Friday's Letters

Dear Mother Nature, what the eff is going on? It was freezing and raining for Memorial Day weekend and now it's muggy and in the 90's. What happened to spring? What happened to taking it easy on pregnant women? Jeesh!

Dear blog friends, it has been such a blessing to find a group of girls that are not only going through the same stages of life and pregnancy with me, but who are genuine, down to earth girls that I am lucky to 'know'. Your comments and emails have kept me laughing and given me great advice and genuine excitement over my baby girl. This is why blogging is so awesome.

Dear baseball seasons, why must you always run right into each other? Maybe it has something to do with my husband's coaching skills but when your husband coaches two teams, you look forward to the week or two lull in between seasons. Thanks to playoffs, there is no lull. Boo! 

Dear Princess, thanks for tolerating Rocky more and more each day. It is so precious to watch the two of you. I can't promise I won't keep trying to take pictures of him licking your head but I do promise to step in if I see that you're getting annoyed. 

Dear Rocky, I am so glad that you are feeling better! My heart hurt for you last weekend and I hope to never see you so uncomfortable again. I'm so glad to see that you're back to your silly self.

my boys

Dear Jeff, thanks for doing what you do for us, even when you're gone from the house for 12 hours a day. I know I gave you a laundry list of the things you don't do last night, but maybe that was the prego-chick-who-needed-a-bowl-of-ice-cream-pronto part of me talking. What you do to my heart and soul is so much greater than remembering to change the litter box.

Dear baby girl, you continue to amaze me each week. I love that I am starting to learn when you are most active and can feel and watch your strong kicks in my belly. I don't love it when you tap dance on my bladder but I get that your long legs need to go somewhere. Now if you could just let your daddy feel your kicks, we would all be so happy. He is patiently waiting. It is so much fun to be planning your nursery and imagining the girl you are going to be. Mama loves you baby!

Bump Date: 23 weeks!

This week: Work is busy as ever and it's starting to feel like summer. Antsy kids (and teachers) ready for summer and hot, sticky weather. Oh, joy! The summer semester of grad school also started this week. Boo!

How far along? 23 weeks! 

Baby's size: Baby P is the size of a grapefruit!

Total weight gain: 3 lbs at 18 week appt. I feel like it's been forever since my last appt but I had to reschedule so I'll have a better idea next week. I'm sure I've gained at least a few more pounds in the past month, unless Oreos and ice cream don't have calories when you're pregnant...

Maternity clothes? Nothing new, just rotating the same outfits, with as many regular dresses as I can still wear. The outfit I'm wearing in my picture is all regular clothes but you can see that this is probably the last time I can wear that white shirt. I had to wear a white cami under it so that I didn't show any skin.

Stretch marks: Nothing new and nothing on my belly.

Sleep: Eh.

Best moment this week: Feeling more movement and I came home this week to a special delivery. I have been wanting to get a cloth diaper in my hands to check it out and my mom had one delivered to my house. It is the cutest little thing and it is pink! I can't believe that we'll have someone whose bum will be small enough to wear that!

What I miss: A cold summer bevy. Other than that, not much right now.

Movement: Lots! I'm starting to notice when she's most active and I finally felt her move from the outside. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my belly move a couple of nights ago. Now I'm just waiting for Jeff to feel it, too.

Food cravings: Pink lemonade and cherry limeade. I've been making my own cherry limeade with sprite, grenadine, lime juice, and maraschino cherries. Yum!

Food aversions: Still meat.

Gender: Sweet baby girl!

Belly button - in or out? It's still in but it is on the move. At our ultrasound, the tech said that the baby was right behind my belly button and now you can tell.

Wedding rings - on or off? I started taking my rings off at night because my fingers are swelling at night but I can get them on with no problem in the morning.

Symptoms: More tired.. I'm sure the weather and end of the school year isn't helping. Also more heartburn.

Mood: SO happy! SO in love with our baby girl!

Looking forward to: beginning our registry this weekend! I'm also hoping to get our crib bedding ordered by the weekend, too. :)

 

I tried to get the pooch to participate in pics yesterday..

he's not diggin' it.

Memorial Day weekend

There is almost nothing that I love more than a long weekend. I think every weekend should be three days. But then I'd probably wish that every weekend was four days. Hmmph.

This weekend started out a little rough, when Rocky gave us a bit of a scare. We woke up on Friday morning around 2:30am to the most awful sound coming from Rocky's bed. Poor baby was crouched in his crate, in a horrible coughing fit, giving me the saddest eyes ever. Then he started throwing up. We took him out of his crate where he proceeded to jump in our bed, throw up, jump on the rug, throw up, run into the hall, throw up, run down the stairs, throw up. You get the point I'm sure.  We finally got everything cleaned up and put him back to bed and the cycle continued until we were up for the day at 4:30. Literally every time he inhaled, he choked out an exhale. It was heartbreaking to listen to and I didn't know what to do. I called the emergency vet and she started asking questions that made me nervous and of course, Google didn't help, either. I called out of work to take Rocky to the vet and because I couldn't leave him like that when he couldn't breathe. I quickly put together sub plans, grabbed Rock's medical records, towels for the car, and my bag and headed out the door. It wasn't until I tried to open the back door that I realized that I never grabbed my car keys. I was a hot pregnant mess on the front porch with my dog hacking up a lung while I waited for Jeff to come home and rescue us. It wasn't pretty. By the time we made it to the vet we got the news that Rocky has bronchitis, a type of kennel cough. For whatever reason, I didn't think kennel cough because he hasn't been to daycare in a couple of weeks and I have no clue how he could contract something like that. I mean, he does like to make out with one of the dogs in the neighborhood... I don't know how people do this with their dogs. Kennel cough is pretty common but Rocky could not take a breath without going into a coughing fit.

poor baby boo

I spent the rest of the day nursing my sweet baby back to health. This included Robitussin DM, Benadryl, taking him for muggy, rainy walks, and sitting with him in the steamy bathroom. I know that Jeff is going to be the best dad for so many reasons, but I really fell in love with him all over again when I walked into the bathroom to find him holding Rocky like a baby with the shower as hot as it would go, because he told me that the steam was rising and that Rocky couldn't get it from the floor like he could from his arms. Seriously? Be still my heart.

Saturday we got a bunch of stuff done around the house since it was a rainy day and Jeff's game was cancelled. Rocky was still coughing pretty bad but he was starting to improve. Saturday night we settled in for the Bruins game with nachos, wings, and homemade cherry limeade. I'm addicted. Oh, and the Bruins won. :)

I must have worn myself out on Saturday because I was a total lazy bones on Sunday. When Jeff left for his baseball game on Sunday afternoon, Rocky and I literally didn't move off the couch until he got home. Glorious.

typical

Monday we had a BFF BBQ. The weather was perfect, Rocky was feeling better, and Jeff got lobsters! Love me some lobstah! It's been a while since we hung out with Donna & James, so we loved that we got to spend all day with them. Here's a bit of our day in pictures.

The boys' idea of setting up

I'm not sure why he insists on making this face whenever I ask to take a pic.

Still love him the best, though.

Mangia! Mangia!

BFF's on their second wedding anniversary!

love

This boy is never far from food or his tennis ball

Peanut Butter Pie for dessert. The picture doesn't do it justice.

*recipe to come*

The boys

This weekend was a perfect mix of family, being productive, being lazy, and friends. I could go for another :)

Rant: Maternity Clothes

I'm not sure if it is purely coincidental or if it's meant to be that today's yesterday's challenge post is to rant about something. I have had something brewing in my head that seems to just intensify and this is the perfect outlet to rant about it, since surely my husband is sick of hearing it.

I think that the most ridiculous thing that ever was is maternity clothes. I have really just hit the point where I actually need maternity clothes since belly shirts and unbuttoned pants just aren't in right now. I have gone to a few stores and made some online purchases, which I thought would be pretty easy since the companies say to order in your regular size, right? Wrong. 

Disclosure: I have nothing against the stores listed, I have an issue with maternity clothes in general.

I started my maternity shopping extravaganza online at Old Navy during a 30% off sale. I read the reviews, followed suggestions from previous shoppers, ordered my regular sizes, and still got duped. I was so excited when the big package from Old Navy came and I immediately began trying things on. I bought an adorable maxi dress and I actually sized down since all the reviews said it ran really big. Ok, no problem. I usually wear a medium top but I'm only 5'1, so I went with a small for length. It's a cute dress but there are SEVEN inches of fabric on the floor when I put it on. Really, all women wearing a small from Old Navy are at least 5'8? Doubt it. Is this to compensate for the belly? If so, pregnant women wouldn't be able to walk if their bellies stuck out as far as the fabric left over is suggesting.

 

{via}

Next up was the black nursing dress. It's a really cute, simple cotton dress that has a nursing panel in the chest. I thought I would get good use out of it this summer and into the fall once the baby is here. I tried it on and got stuck. Literally. My neck was popping out of the nursing panel and my arm was through the other other side of the panel. If this was meant to simplify nursing, then why do you need a Ph.D to figure out how to get it on? Ain't nobody got time for that!

 

{via}

Then, I bought one pair of khakis for work. I figure that since I'll only be teaching summer school, I won't really need long pants. Well, I actually ordered these a size up just in case my hips or thighs spread. I figured they would bit a bit loose which I would prefer for right now. They look like they are painted on. Like, I can't even breathe, even with that belly panel. These are a size bigger than I usually wear and my regular pair, from the same store, still fits but I just can't deal with the belly band.

Which brings me to the next issue... the belly band. Am I wearing this thing wrong? When I sit down, it shifts and I have to rearrange my pants constantly. I teach fifth grade and it is not okay that my pants are falling down. The directions say to fold it over three times to cover the lumps from my buttons but when I fold it over three times, it looks like I'm wearing a headband. So I fold it twice and it shifts. Or I don't fold it and you can see that my pants aren't buttoned. I thought I would love this but sadly, I was mistaken.

 {via}

Then I was browsing online at Target and the selection didn't seem so bad, so I went in to try things on. Well, I didn't find anything online in the store and everything that was in the store was hideous or super simple and I had trouble justifying spending extra money on simple shirts and pants that can only be worn for a few more months. The sizes, the color combos, even the selection was sparse. I went up to a rack that had only three tanks left on it and they were XS and XL. Hmm. It wasn't all bad, though. I ended up leaving the maternity section and buying a bunch of XL 'long and lean' tanks from the Juniors section so that they would fit my belly all summer. Again, I'm normally a medium but I'm hoping to get through to at least September. These tanks were 3 for $20 so I couldn't resist. That's a deal I can't turn down and whaddya know, it's not maternity! Finally, something I can feel good about!

I guess I am just confused about maternity clothes. Shouldn't the maternity section be just like the regular clothes section, except with room for pregnant bellies? Why do I have to compromise style or comfortable fit because I'm pregnant? I'm already gaining weight, checking for stretch marks, breaking out, and sweating like a hooligan. And I'm having an easy pregnancy! I have to say that not everything is terrible but I refuse to spend a ridiculous amount of money for clothes that I can't even wear next season. Plus, with all the cute mama's in their maternity wear on Pinterest, I thought I would be totally styling for 9 months. My hopes were high. I did end up finding a couple of things but I would say that for every cute outfit I found, there were 10 hideous/ill-fitting items being left at the fitting rooms.

Seriously, I would be better off going to Homegoods and getting a frickin' table cloth.

22 week Bump Date!

Nursery sneak peek! :)

This week: I am enjoying a bit of a break in between semesters. I also received my grades.. a 3.7 and 4.0. Woo! In other news, my rings are starting to get a bit tight and my belly button is making it's move!

How far along? 22 weeks! 

Baby's size: Baby P is the size of a papaya!

Total weight gain: Total of 3 pounds at 18 week appt. 

Maternity clothes? Rocking the dresses as much as possible. I just had my first maternity shopping spree in Target. Why don't they make the same clothes that everyone else wears, in maternity?

Stretch marks: No. I have a couple small ones on my thighs that are old and I am suddenly nursing them like crazy. I never cared much about them until I had this arsenal of stretch mark cream. It's a curse.

Sleep: Mostly good. Not great. Just good.

Best moment this week: The little things... laying in the hammock in the sun feeling my baby girl kick in my belly.

What I miss: A normal body heat. I am roasting.

Movement: Yes! Loving feeling my baby girl's kicks!

Food cravings: Back to pink lemonade & limeade. Soft serve twist with chocolate jimmies. I think I really just like anything cold.

Food aversions: Meat. Gross.

Gender: Sweet baby girl!

Symptoms: I am hot, hot, hot. All the time.

Mood: SO happy! SO in love with our baby girl!

Looking forward to: Registering for baby! And a long weekend :)

Weekend with the pup

This weekend wasn't all that eventful, Jeff was away so it was just me and the pup all weekend. One of my besties came over on Friday and we just got to hang out, which was so nice. Kristin and I were roommates in college and some of my best times with her were just when we hung out not doing much of anything and that's what we got to do Friday. She came over and we walked Rocky, went out to dinner, came home and plopped on the couch watching TV, chatting, and poking at my belly. It was so nice. Other than that, I did a whole lot of catching up on Grey's Anatomy and researching baby products to prep for our registry.

I wanted to share a few moments from my day on Sunday. Rocky slept in bed with me Saturday night since the hubs was away and he was so sweet to let me sleep past 5am, which is his usual wake up time. We snuggled until 7:30, had breakfast, and headed out to enjoy the sunshine. As I lay in the hammock with a cup of coffee, baby girl was kicking up a storm in my belly and baby boy was kicking up a storm in the mulch beds. It couldn't have been more perfect, well unless Jeff was there, too. The semester for grad school has really been eating up my Sundays so it was nice to just stay in my pajamas and soak in the morning. A Target run, Bruins game, and ice cream with the Mister just made the day even better.

Here are a few iPhone pics from our morning...

 

Love waking up next to this sleepyhead. 

He seemed to really enjoy the pregnancy pillow, too. 

 

Does it get any better than this?

 

Look Mom, I dug up the mulch beds for you.

Looking forward to three days of relaxing this weekend! :)

The button's not working (boo!) but I'm linking up with Weekend Shenanigans!

 

21 week Bump date!

This week: We had a memorable week with our gender reveal. Things are back to normal at work and the grad semester just wrapped up! :) 

How far along? 21 weeks! 

Baby's size: Baby P is the size of a banana!

Total weight gain: Total of 3 pounds at 18 week appt. I refuse to weigh myself constantly at home.

Maternity clothes? Still the same. A few tops, regular pants with belly band, and finally DRESSES! 

Stretch marks: Nope! Still using BioOil mostly every night.

Sleep: Better.

Best moment this week: We had our gender reveal party with our family on Mother's Day! I also finally told my students that I'm pregnant. After they finished cheering and clapping, they told me they knew but that you should never ask a woman if she's pregnant. :) They're the sweetest!

What I miss: Not much.

Movement: Yes! I'm finally feeling somewhat regular movement. When I'm on the couch or laying in bed at night, I can feel little thumps. I love, love, love it.

Food cravings: Popsicles and cold cold water. I also had a cherry lime-aid from Sonic and now it's all I can think about!

Food aversions: Meat. Gross.

Gender: IT'S A GIRL!! If you missed our gender reveal, check it out here.

Symptoms: The only thing and the weirdest thing is that every time I blow my nose, there's blood.  Not a bloody nose, just blood. Throw it on the list of gross/weird symptoms.

Mood: SO happy! SO in love with our baby girl!

Looking forward to: Working on the nursery and feeling more regular movement!

Loving our bumps!

Promise Jeff's doesn't really look like that but one of his favorite things now is popping his belly out!

Oh, how I love that sweet face!