18 Weeks

In my head, this is officially half way! Julie says it's time for another belly picture, so here it is. I don't think I've gotten much bigger, but I've also been trying to watch my weight gain a bunch.

Also, Stella wanted to lick my hand really bad during this photo, that's the dark brown spot in the lower corner of the picture. I'm heading out to my first prenatal water exercise class in a bit. Can't wait to be in a pool… hope my swimsuit will still fit.

Blogging about resting is boring.

I don't have much to report to you guys this week. Friday, Saturday and Sunday I pretty much just rested, and had a quiet weekend with Josh. We did some house things, cleaning, rearranging some furniture, and bought a rug for the living room and the rug for the nursery. I also took several naps, and read an very large book about vikings. Today I went to my yoga class, and someone else asked if we could spend extra time working on loosening our hips, and I was glad because mine have been starting to hurt, mostly from sleeping. I would have been too shy to request it though. I've been paying attention to how much I eat, and I weighed myself yesterday and don't seem to have gained anymore weight, so I'm feeling happy about that. We'll see what the scale at the clinic says though, I swear it is always 6 or 7 pounds more then my home scale.
Looking forward to seeing the new Harry Potter movie this week - anyone else?

OMG!

What is this?! HAHAHAHAHA!

Momo Baby Anti-radiation Maternity Jane Dress

Day off, finally.

Thanksgiving was awesome, and I really couldn't be much happier with how everything went at the bakery. We sold as much stuff as I felt like we could handle, our staffing situation was just about perfect, and everyone got along, worked hard, and seemed happy. Today, unfortunately, it caught up with me. I did so well when I just had to keep going, going, going, but now that I've slowed down, I'm exhausted and sore and cranky. I had to go in at 5am this morning again to finish up some non-Thanksgiving cakes, but was home again by 8am and in bed. I've been trying to just take it easy today, but as tired as I am, I just can't sit still!
My most wonderful friend Michelle (who cooked the best Thanksgiving dinner I've ever had last night) gave us a closet organizer that she used for Ruby when she was little. I put it up in the closet today and filled it with the few items we have. I'm happy to see we have lots of little blankets so far, I'm feeling like they will be immensely practical.

As to why there is a filing cabinet in the closet, you can feel free to call Josh and ask him, because I don't know.

I spent some time sewing today, in an effort to do something that required little exertion. I made a couple of burp cloths, from a simple tutorial at Prudent Baby. After seeing how much meredith used hers with Tripp, I've decided to make sure I have plenty. I made them with some scraps I had around, and they came out okay. I ended up feeling really frustrated with my sewing machine today, which is unusual. It just wouldn't stay threaded, and was sounding really clunky and balling up the bobbin thread a bunch.

This is my machine. I'me really attached to it, because it is one of the few things that has stayed with me though the 20 different places I've lived since high school.  Mom and Dad bought it for me when I graduated, I used Mom's ANCIENT machine all through high school, and then this one went off with me to college. It's been great to me, but Josh and I were having a conversation yesterday after I saw this machine online and said I liked it. He thinks I should think about getting a new one, since I've been sewing so much again, but I sort of feel like getting rid of what isn't broken is wrong. Maybe mine just needs to be cleaned and tuned up. But what if I had a new machine that was quiet, and had an auto thread cutter (dreamy!) and could even do embroidery?! But then, what if after the baby comes I don't have time to do much sewing? I do have a bakery to run too. But what if i'm sewing while the baby sleeps and the old machine is so loud? And so on and so on…

Anyway, as for the Bloob, he/she is making me feel crowded. My belly is pushing out and out and standing up from sitting is getting hard, and I can't eat a full meal because I feel like my stomach and the baby are so tightly packed in my belly that it just aches. Lesson learned with thanksgiving dinner yesterday. It's all okay though, because I think I've felt the Bloob moving a couple of times, but I'm not totally sure. The first time felt like little tiny karate kicks near my belly button, then further to the right, all within a couple minutes, and the second was more of a soft, brushing feeling below my belly button. Could have really easily been gas, or digestion though, it's pretty hard to tell. I'm still not quite ready to yell "The Quickening!" and run around freaking out. Soon though. Soon.

Ultrasound, surprise!

We had sort of a last minute ultrasound on Wednesday to resolve some questions with our dating. The ultrasound tech said our due date is probably closer to April 30th, but they won't say for sure until we talk to the midwife again. The Bloob is apparently a wiggle worm, he/she wouldn't stay still and we didn't get any perfect side-view pictures. There was a lot of upside down and child's pose going on, and it was cool to get to see those little hands and fingers moving around like crazy! These are the pictures the tech gave us, look how metal our kid is! All Skulls and Horns.

The first picture is the baby laying sideways, with it's head turned facing front. I LOVE the little dots of the spine going down it's back. The second is just of it's arm, and its giving a little thumbs up, but we think it looks like horns. You can sort of see the head, facing down, in the background.

Cold, clothes, and lentils.

It's cold here! The forecast said snow, and we got a little but, but mostly we just got cold. I don't need a snowstorm ruining another holiday at the bakery, so I'm glad, and the cold just makes it feel more like holidays. I love the cold weather but I'm struggling with clothes - do most women go through 9 months of pregnancy wearing the same 3 outfits? I've been shopping for maternity clothes, but so much of it is short or 3/4 sleeve, or looks like a tent. I'm probably being too picky, I know. I just want some nice plain shirts and sweaters! Gap maternity online has a few I like, I probably just need to break down and order them, and hopefully they'll fit. Luckily in the late 90's Mom bought me a wool peacoat with a hood, which I've kept all these years. That was during the years when wearing clothes too big was cool, so it's a size too large, and is now the only one of my coats that fits. I think I can get another couple of months out of it, so maybe I won't have to buy a maternity coat.

I got a letter in the mail about my blood work from my last appointment that said I am very slightly anemic. Very Slightly. Ha! I'm not too surprised since I've been having a lot of trouble swallowing my giant pre-natal vitamin every day. It makes me gag just thinking about it, so I haven't taken it as much as I should be. I've forced myself every day since then though! I've also been trying to eat more iron rich foods, and one of the best is lentils. And beans. We've eaten lentils and beans for almost every meal since then, but I don't think Josh has noticed yet. His favorite restaurant, Ya Hala, has lentil soup we both love, and it takes very little work to convince him to go there.

I worked on a registry at Babies R US, since we're all done with the nursery, I guess we're ready to start putting things in it! It started with the big stuff, and I'll work on adding the smaller items next week I think. I found another crib there that we both like, and it's cheap! We want to spend less on the crib, and more on the mattress, so we don't have one of those vinyl covered mattresses that everyone says smell really bad. This crib turns into a really cute toddler bed, and then a full size bed!

To get to the registry, go to Babiesrus.com and enter this number Registry #: 46217971 or search by our names. I also put a link over to the left side of the page. If there is something else I should add let me know, it's helping me to have a list to look at of what we will need! I guess you can buy stuff, and then arrange for us to pick it up at our Portland store, to avoid shipping. If you're dying to get me those washable nursing pads (ugh), then go for it, haha!

I can't believe I'm writing this today. I thought for sure I'd be stuck at work all day, but we are right on schedule, and we even have a record number of orders for Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to all of the fun pie baking tomorrow!

16 Weeks, now with blurry photos!

It's been awhile! A week? We're 2 days past 16 weeks now, and the time has gone by quickly since I went to Austin. It was so much fun! I miss all those ladies so much already. I have a bunch of pictures, which one should I start with? How about the one where I feel fat. Looking forward to 5 more months of that feeling. And while I'm having a low self esteem moment, I hate my hair at this length. I know it's part of the growing out process, but I want it either shorter, or longer NOW.

I'm surprised by how much all the crazy hormones make me feel like crap one minute, and like a sexy pregnant lady in the next. I don't know why I'm surprised, every blog or book I read says it will happen, but as someone who has never cared much about my weight, it's a weird feeling.

In less whiney news, here are the before/after pictures of the nursery! We finished painting it, and now I guess we just need furniture to fill it up. The closet already has tiny hand-me-down hangers (thanks michelle!!) and some clothes and blankets from my family. We have gotten a couple of toys too, but we have to hide them in a drawer or Stella will rip out all of the stuffing.
Before:

After!

The second photo is a better representation of the colors, the first one was at night and it's all yellowy from the flash. I still have to put the closet doors back on, or figure out a different solution, because they are really dirty and splattered with paint.

Here's Josh, who isn't getting as much face time here, since he doesn't have a growing belly to document. He is working on a nice beard though.

And here are some pecan custard tarts, I accidentally uploaded the photo with all the others. mmmm.

This one is a preview of what I'll look like with a baby, in case you're having trouble imagining. It was so fun to meet baby Tripp and to see Meredith as a mom. Traveling with a 5 week old baby is brave, and she handled it so well! I got to carry Tripp around for an entire day of shopping, and I loved every minute of it. Julie and I were in Pier 1, it was very christmasy in there.

And the last one! Julie and I on our last day together. Miss you Jules! Thanks for driving us everywhere.

A-OK

We went to see the midwives again today. Everything is great, pretty uneventful visit. Hear the heartbeat briefly again, much stronger this time, 148 beats per minute. Josh got excited. I forget that since he doesn't feel the day to day changes of carrying the baby that things don't seem as "real" to him, so it made him really giddy to get to hear the heartbeat again. I had blood drawn for general blood work, and a "quad panel", which is a screening for abnormalities like down's or spina bifida. The lady who drew my blood used one of those rubber strips to wrap my upper arm before she drew my blood, and I have never had anyone do it so tightly! I think I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but I was gritting my teeth the whole time! Usually they take it off after they start drawing blood, but she left it until the end, so I sat through four tubes of blood with it. I'm interested to see if I have a bruise from it tomorrow. She did a good job putting the needle in though, I didn't even feel it. Although, in hindsight, maybe that was because I was focused on  the pain in my upper arm.
I'm off to Austin in the morning, bright (actually, dark) and early. Josh has the day off tomorrow, because the new furnace is being installed. He made himself a mile long to-do list for the weekend that includes cleaning all the carpets, cleaning out the car, touching up the paint in the nursery, cleaning the whole house, getting tattooed, and taking Stella on long walks.

Next appointment is Dec. 15th for the big 20 week ultrasound at the hospital, then Dec. 17th for the next one with the midwives.

15 weeks dudes!

Booyah! Doesn't really feel any different than last week though. I've been working away on the nursery, and I will post before and after pics tonight. It's been raining so much, it's been nice to have a good inside project to work on.
Also, I've been doing such a good job of eating relatively healthy food, but this week I screwed it all up. I had a coke. Okay, fine, I had two. Not in the same day though and oh, they were SO DELICIOUS and hit the spot. Then today, I had a boston creme doughnut. A vegan one of course, from voodoo doughnuts, so it was probably all food coloring and hydrogenated. But I wanted it SO BAD! To make myself feel better I bought Josh an apple fritter, so he wouldn't give me a dirty look for poisoning our baby with (delicious) doughnuts. My guilt is only mild though, since I watched enough 16 and Pregnant to know that you can have a perfectly healthy baby while subsisting only on McDonalds, pizza, and soda. I also learned from that show that if I was 16, I would be sitting around on the couch being bitchy all day and yelling at people, while my Mom did everything for me, although she would be complaining about it bitterly to the camera behind my back. Guess that's the drawback to having a baby at 34. Mom, why do you live so far, I have dishes for you to do, and laundry to be washed!

Do you see that pregnancy ticker up there? It says "Movements more coordinated, eyebrows and eyelashes appear". FREAKY! We have an appointment with the midwives again on Thursday, in the afternoon. This time I get blood drawn, and they are doing a test for Down Syndrome markers. Because of my age, there is a higher risk, but no one in either of our families has it, so hopefully that's a good sign. Plus I'm still banking on this Higgins' Magic Fertility, where you get pregnant in 1st try (or without trying, ha), bounce right through your pregnancy with a smile, and pop out a perfect adorable baby. Right Ali? Right Mom? I guess I'm the test to see if Ali was just lucky, or if its true.

We won't have another ultrasound until 20 weeks or so, and then we are hoping to make that the last one if everything is going well. Normally that would be when we find out the gender, but we're not gonna! I did read somewhere if you are craving lots of salty foods, its going to be a boy. Which I was, until that doughnut today.

We decided on names awhile ago, it wasn't really that hard, but lots of people say not to tell, so people don't convince you otherwise. But I'm telling you guys. If it's a girl, we chose Ada Elaine Kubisch, and for a boy, Arch Higgins Kubisch. I never would have thought that I'd want such family names, but I really like the idea of having your name connect to someone else.
Ada is no one's name, we just like it. But Elaine is my Mom, sister Ali, and niece Meredith's middle name. Arch is Josh's Dad's middle name and maybe someone else's in his family? I can't remember. Higgins is my last name, obviously, and I like it that Arch Higgins sounds like Art Higgins, my dad's name. Even though I'm keeping my last name, we're giving the kid Josh's. We didn't even fight over it! I just don't really care, and he does, so there you go.
I'm talkative today! This is what happens when I'm home alone all day. Only two days until Austin, can't wait to see everyone! Julie I'm going to make you try on my maternity jeans.

Good thing I checked

Because that crib from Ikea is UGLY in real life. Beech color is not good. It's too bad, because I liked the bed it turned into so much! I'll find another.

Domestically productive day!

Except for an hour this morning, when I had a wedding tasting, Josh and I got to spend the whole day together at home. While I was at work he went and picked up a load of mulch and finished the front yard so its ready for winter. When I got home we prepped the front room (previously called "the art room", now called "the nursery") for painting by moving all of Josh's art stuff out. Then he got to work on stripping the paint off of the dresser that I bought all those weeks ago (YES! finally!). He just walked by and told me to make sure to tell all of you that he says Hi! and to remember to mention that when he was working on the yard, he cut all of the last dahlia blooms off the plant and left them on the porch for me when I got home. That plant ended up getting so huge and had the most beautiful pink blooms! It was sweet.

Anyway, while he stripped the dresser, I painted the room with a coat of primer. I realized Josh has a boom box with a tape player, so I dug out all my old mix tapes from the 90's and had such a great time listening to them! I was glad I was painting alone, because I sang along the whole time, until my throat was feeling kind of sore. We took a break for awhile to make a run to home depot, and let the primer dry, and now I'm ready to put on the first coat of paint! We got a creamy ivory color, called Custard.

I started picking out some things that we'd like to go in the room, and since they aren't all from one place I'm just putting links here. We've looked at cribs, and feel like a lot of them are just too expensive, so we're going with Ikea for the one we want. This one becomes a toddler bed too, which is great. I can't figure out the mattress situation - they have quite a few choices, and it doesn't seem like an infant needs to have a pillow top luxury mattress, but what do I know. I'll just link to the general mattress section HERE, and maybe someone can tell me what to choose.

Crib

I've also been searching for a rug for the room, since the floors are wood, and I really like this plain brown one from Ikea too. Since the walls will be Custard, the curtains I bought are Cranberry, It seems appropriate to have a rug that is Chocolate brown. Sounds like we're making some kind of delicious dessert. Plus, the size we need is only $149 and for a rug that seems like a sweet deal. Ikea really is pretty great for some things, except for kitchen utensils, which they are no good at.

Rug 

We decided awhile ago that we wanted a co-sleeper for the first few months, before we start trying to use the crib. I thought we had picked out the one we liked until we found this!!

Some teeny tiny mom & pop company makes these, and the design is super simple! It has wood arms that slide under your mattress for support, and adjustable legs to fit the height of your bed. They're kind of pricey though, so Josh is just going to make one. The company that makes it also shows you how to turn it into a toddler bench when you're through with it. We're scared to have the baby sleep in the bed with us, because we both toss and turn in our sleep so much, so this seems like a great option. Plus, look how smiley that baby is!

The other day we briefly hung out with Leela and Spencer, while Leela's sister and her 5 month old daughter were visiting. We both got to hold the baby, and she was just super sweet and adorable. It was so nice to be around a baby, and I loved seeing how natural Josh was with her. His hands were half the size of her little body! I think we both feel anxious to have a baby we can hold!

Time to get back to painting! I miss all of you guys and wish you were here to shop for baby stuff with me. That includes you too Sherry and Mary! I'm so looking forward to spending time with my family in Austin next weekend, and Josh's family at Christmas. Being pregnant has made me really miss being close to family. Crap, I just made myself all teary eyed. Silly hormones!

Is that some extra weight you're carrying?

At work yesterday, Katie, Kim, Laura and I all accidentally wore matching outfits, so we recorded it with a photo, of course. I am wondering now how many customers are wondering if I am pregnant, or just getting chubby, and are too scared to ask that question, and be wrong. Ha!

14 weeks

It's been a busy week, and I haven't had much time for blogging, or sewing! I did finally take some pictures of the curtains though. I only had enough fabric to make cafe curtains if I wanted to do both windows, so that's what I did. It's just enough to cover the neighbor's window without blocking all of the light, so it worked out.

Look, I'm in there too! And it was a sunny day! Josh has been in eugene for work the last few days and I've been holding down the fort. Work and the animals and watching the election coverage pretty much took up all my time. We bought paint for the nursery, which I thought I'd have time to do while Josh was gone, but nope. My belly is still getting bigger (guess that's gonna happen) and it is starting to feel heavy. Other than feeling tired, I'm feeling very irritable, in a way that I know is just hormones, but it's pretty annoying. I know Josh is tired of it! I'm hoping this phase doesn't last very long. I keep using the "other pregnant women are probably WAY more crazy!" excuse, but I don't know if it's working. I also missed my yoga class this week because of work, which isn't helping any.
Looking forward to holidays, and heading to Austin next week! Can't wait to see everybody and hold a tiny baby.