Baby Updates

Happy Holidays beautiful people! I'm soo tired from this non-restful Christmas holiday. I have gotten most of my checklist taken care of though, so I am happy with that.
I have gotten my hair braided. had all our showers, and taken our secondary maternity pictures. Her crib and dresser are both set up, and her mobile is 97% finished. All the clothes. bedding, bibs, burp clothes, receiving blankets, etc... have been washed, folded, and put away. Her co-sleeper, pack n play, and stroller have all been purchased and set up. Oh and we have also picked a pediatrician. Everything has been purchased for the hospital bags, but I still need to pack. I also need to do my thank you cards, sterilize my pump parts, bottles, and pacifiers. I need to deep clean my house, Oh and do one more daycare visit. We pretty much have a first, second, and third option (none of them allow waiting lists), but we just want to visit this last one later this week because its close to our house. I need to print all my FMLA and short term disability paperwork and start getting that filled out.  Oh and I need to get her car seat installed and checked.
We have a few things on our list left to buy, and we have a few wants also.
Need: mattress, mattress pad, changing pad cover, a changing pad for her diaper bag, wipes case, something to store her pacifiers, some type of storage for her bows and headbands, a humidifier (we really need one for the baby's room and our room), some lanolin, more breast milk storage bags, seat savers for the car, a mirror to see her in the back seat, a few tank tops for me, and a nursing sleep bra
Wants:
a glider, some shelves for books and decorative items, bookends, photo frames, a moby, and a baby Bjorn.
I realize I have never told you all the baby's name. Her name is Isabella, and her middle name will be Renee. She has a million nicknames already with the favorites being Izzy which my husband and I call her) and Bella.
My checkups are going good. I start weekly checkups next week. Izzy has been head down for weeks now, so hopefully she does not decide to turn, and I am measuring 1-2 weeks ahead. I will be 37 weeks next week, so she could come anytime after that and everything would be ok. Hubby is pushing for his birthday (Jan 6th), which is actually a really good week for us, since D would only have to take 2 days off of work in order to be off the whole week, and I would be 38 weeks so I'm comfortable with that.  I don't have an exercise ball to bounce on (not gonna buy one this late in the game), so starting next week, I will be walking, eating pineapples, having more sex, and any other natural induction methods I can think of. lol

Updates:
How Far Along? 35 weeks 45days (week 36) only 31 more days left!

Symptoms: sleepy, sleepy, sleepy. I'm always tired now. I'm also feeling the pain from my pelvis starting to stretch and open up (I forgot the medical term for it), it hurts to walk sometimes, and it definitely hurts to get in and out of bed at night (we have a high bed with a pillow top mattress), and I'm definitely feeling the pressure when she starts to push down every once in a while, still having braxton hicks occasionally, but they are not painful.

Total Weight Gain: I'm up to 188. :( Time to start walking!

Measurement: I am still measuring at 42.5 inches.

Maternity Clothes: I am in full maternity wear. except maternity underwear. I refuse to wear those.

Stretch Marks: no stretch marks on my belly. I have two forming on my sides (one on each side) but I'm trying to keep them oiled so that they don't spread. lol. Everything is still good here.

Sleep: As I said in the section about my symptoms, I am sleepy all the time now. but I have too much to do, I don't have time to sleep!

Food Cravings: I still love toast, and simply orange juice with mango, add waffles to that list


Best Moment This Week: Getting all Izzy's furniture put together and basically having everything we actually need done (other than packing those bags)

Movement: All day long. I feel more pushing, stretching, and rolling movements, but she still gets some good kicks in there. She hiccups alot too. all her movements are much more pronounced now, to the point where hubby can feel her hiccups too! Its weird cause since she is head down, i feel the hiccups in my pelvis cause that's where she likes to wedge her head at. lol She's so sometimey though. she really only moves for me and her daddy. Oh and when we are in church. any other time someone comes around trying to feel her move, she stops instantly. lol

Labor Signs: No more painful braxton hicks! I still get them, but now it just feels like my belly get really tight and hard, but it doesn't hurt.

Belly Button In or Out? Total outtie at this point

What I Miss: I really miss sleeping on my back. I miss being intimate with mu hubby comfortably (TMI I know), I definitely miss not being in pain at this point. I still love being pregnant, and want my baby to bake as long as possible, but I'm ready to feel like myself again. absolutely nothing has changed here. lol

What I Am Looking Forward To: I'm looking forward to finishing the nursery and meeting my baby!

Milestones: I don't think I have any new milestones this week. Just glad that everything is going normally.

Weekly Wisdom: I'm due next month! Its crazy to think that we will have a new addition to our little family in the next 1-4 weeks!

Baby Updates

Man soooo much stuff has happened! I have had both of my showers and D has had his man shower. D has also painted baby girl's room and both the crib and the dresser have been delivered. We got so much stuff from the showers that I can't even list it all right now. we basically got alot of diapers, alot of clothes, bath stuff, lots of blankets, lots of bibs, some pacifiers, and burp cloths, a baby food processor, bottles, a nursing cover, piggy bank, baby monitor, bath tub, grooming kits, a jj cole bundle me, her bouncer, her high chair, a diaper genie, alot of gift cards, and an oral care kit. and of course we previously had my breast pump and my mom bought the crib. D and I bought her dresser and we just ordered her co sleeper which should be here next week. A family member of ours is supposed to be buying our pack n play so we should be getting that set up soon. I'm so glad I feel like things are finally coming together.
I have a few more clothing items to get for her but I'm not in rush to get them. She needs more socks, hats, mittens, and some plain white onsies, I also need some of those big cloth diapers to use as burp cloths. 
For her room, she needs a hamper, some shelves, a few photo frames, and her bedding and room decor. I want to get a glider but that's not on my necessities list. 
 The other stuff we need is her stroller/ car seat, another base for the car seat, my moby, his baby Bjorn, possibly a swing, and some other small items that I can't think of right now.
Oh, my doctors appointment went well. She was measuring at 4.5 pounds last week, still head down. but my uterus is still measuring 2 weeks ahead. I still don't thin I'm going to make it until my due date. I just have a feeling. we will see.
The maternity photos went great! I will upload some later this week. We are going to be taking some more later this month depending on D's schedule.


Updates:
How Far Along? 33 weeks 4 days (week 34) only 46 more days left!

Symptoms: sleepy, sleepy, sleepy. I'm always tired now. And when I go to bed, I sleep like a rock. lol That's pretty much it, other than that I get some braxton hicks now and then, but they aren't painful anymore. I have been blessed to have a pretty much symptom free pregnancy. Prayerfully that doesn't mean that I will have a hard labor and delivery! Oh, I am in serious nesting mode. I want everything done like now! lol

Total Weight Gain: I'm up to 188. :( Time to start walking!

Measurement: I am measuring at 42.5 inches. I feel huge! everyone says I'm not big at all to be 8 months pregnant though.

Maternity Clothes: I am in full maternity wear. except maternity underwear. I refuse to wear those.

Stretch Marks: no stretch marks on my belly. I have two forming on my sides (one on each side) but I'm trying to keep them oiled so that they don't spread. lol. Everything is still good here.

Sleep: As I said in the section about my symptoms, I am sleepy all the time now. but I have too much to do, I don't have time to sleep!

Food Cravings: I still love toast, and simply orange juice with mango


Best Moment This Week: Having our showers and getting her room painted and furniture received.

Movement: All day long. I feel more pushing, stretching, and rolling movements, but she still gets some good kicks in there. She hiccups alot too. all her movements are much more pronounced now, to the point where hubby can feel her hiccups too! Its weird cause since she is head down, i feel the hiccups in my pelvis cause that's where she likes to wedge her head at. lol She's so sometimey though. she really only moves for me and her daddy. Oh and when we are in church. any other time someone comes around trying to feel her move, she stops instantly. lol

Labor Signs: No more painful braxton hicks! I still get them, but now it just feels like my belly get really tight and hard, but it doesn't hurt.

Belly Button In or Out? Total outtie at this point

What I Miss: I really miss sleeping on my back. I miss being intimate with mu hubby comfortably (TMI I know), I definitely miss not being in pain at this point. I still love being pregnant, and want my baby to bake as long as possible, but I'm ready to feel like myself again. absolutely nothing has changed here. lol

What I Am Looking Forward To: I'm looking forward to finishing the nursery and meeting my baby!

Milestones: I don't think I have any new milestones this week. Just glad that everything is going normally.

Weekly Wisdom: Ummmm I'm full term in 3 weeks. I am scared. lol. No weekly wisdom from me today. lol

baby update

Good Morning! I'm back with an update and some pics!
I'm soooo excited about taking maternity pics tomorrow and for my first shower Sunday. D also has his man shower on Sunday also. I think my mom is going to pay off the crib today and we are going to pay off her dresser maybe tomorrow or Sunday. Then her furniture should be delivered within 1-2 weeks. I can't wait!

Updates:
How Far Along? 31 weeks 6 days (week 32)

Symptoms: Fatigue, braxton hicks, pressure, and sleeplessness. Oh and I think I'm starting to nest, cause I am feeling really anxious about getting things done, and not being able to do them myself. nothings changed here.

Total Weight Gain: still holding at 183

Measurement: I am still measuring at 41.5 inches. No denying that I am pregnant now!

Maternity Clothes: I am in full maternity wear. except maternity underwear. I refuse to wear those.

Stretch Marks: no stretch marks on my belly. I have two forming on my sides (one on each side) but I'm trying to keep them oiled so that they don't spread. lol

Sleep: OMG I am so tired now. I take naps after work most days, but I have so much to do that I don't really have time for that. That's why i gotta finish getting my life in order, cause right now I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off. When I do close my eyes, I sleep like a log until its time to get up.

Food Cravings: Buttered toast! I swear I could eat this all day every day. i just bought a new toaster to satisfy this craving.


Best Moment This Week: I'm still loving watching my belly move, and sometimes feeling a foot in my ribs. its crazy that I can sometimes feel her heel or knee through my stomach

Movement: All the time, all day long. lol

Labor Signs: No more painful braxton hicks! I still get them, but now it just feels like my belly get really tight and hard, but it doesn't hurt.

Belly Button In or Out? Total outtie at this point

What I Miss: I really miss sleeping on my back. I miss being intimate with mu hubby comfortably (TMI I know), I definitely miss not being in pain at this point. I still love being pregnant, and want my baby to bake as long as possible, but I'm ready to feel like myself again. absolutely nothing has changed here. lol

What I Am Looking Forward To: I'm looking forward to my ultrasound in 2 weeks, my maternity photos, baby showers, setting up her room, and of course meeting my baby!

Milestones: I don't think I have any new milestones this week. Just glad that everything is going normally.

Weekly Wisdom: I can't believe how fast time is winding down. I only have 5 weeks until I am full term and 8 weeks until my due date! There is something going on every week until she gets here. I feel so busy, yet I feel like I am getting nothing done. I know there isn't much we can do until after our showers next weekend, and until after her furniture gets here, but I am so ready to get stuff done. I have my list of stuff for our hospital bags, so I will start collecting that stuff as I see it go on sale. I also and going to be calling some day cares to see when I can stop in and check their centers out. I need to start calling pediatricians too.

Pics!
These are from my friend who is testing out a new camera. She is the one taking our maternity pics tomorrow.

 

Baby

I had to do another baby update because so much has happened. of course if i posted more, I wouldn't have these huge brain dump posts every couple of weeks, but hey life happens. Well, we had our breastfeeding class and our childbirth classes. Both were pretty interesting, but not as informative as I would have wanted. I guess I kinda knew everything, cause I have been researching all things baby for pretty much the last 5 years. lol. I could probably qualify to be a labor and delivery nurse with all the info I have learned. lol. I am glad it is done though. we wont be doing the hospital tour because they included that in the childbirth class. I also had my own personal tour of labor and delivery last night, but more on that later. We have our maternity shoot on 12/1 and my first shower is on 12/2. D's man shower is on 12/2 also, and I have another shower on 12/9. So we are very blessed. whatever we don;t get from these showers, I'll then make a list of what else we need and probably go shopping for those items before Christmas.
Me and baby took a trip to the ER last night because I have been having this crazy pain since Friday. I was afraid that it could have been the start of preterm labor. I didn't want to overreact, but I also didn't want to under react, ya know what I mean? So from Friday to Monday I have been feeling my belly tighten, alot of pressure, and cramps regularly. the only thing that somewhat stopped them was taking Tylenol. they were coming every 9 minutes on Saturday and hurt so bad that I was on all fours with D massaging my back. Well by Monday afternoon, they were 3-4 minutes apart. See why I panicked? I did a drop in at my doctor's office, and they were closing for the day so they told me to go to the ER. That's when I lost it. I started crying in the parking lot and a few of my favorite nurses gave me hugs and tried to calm me down. (I love them, and definitely plan on sending them something when I have the baby). So I called hubby crying (he was at work) and he told me to go to the Er and get checked. I told him not to leave work in case there were no problems so he wouldn't have to lose any time. I then called my mom crying and she and my sister came to the ER with me. So the monitored me and baby for an hour and everything is fine with us. I also had a follow up appointment today with my doctor. Apparently baby girl is head down and causing pressure on my cervix so between that and the braxton hicks, plus me being dehydrated added to the pain. So Ive been told to stay off my feet whenever possible, rest more, SLOW DOWN, and drink more water.
I've been guzzling water all day, and have pretty much been in the bed since I got off work today. Hubby has banned me from doing pretty much anything lol and has been taking great care of me. I'm feeling ok now, but I can tell I need more water cause that's when the pains come back and pretty much anytime I'm up on my feet or driving for like 20 minutes or more, the pain and pressure starts to come back. Oh yeah and I'm measuring at 32 weeks, so that's two weeks ahead of where I'm supposed to be. That would put me at delivering mid January. I honestly don't think I'm gonna make it out of December, or have her in early January at the latest. I plan on having everything done for her before the end of December just in case though.
So I have to modify my cleaning and cooking schedule that I made up for myself. Now I'm going to just try to do one or two small cleaning items a day. Unless its something that I can do sitting down. And delegating alot more duties to D.
This pregnancy has totally changed my husband. He was always caring and showed me that he loves me in the past, but he has become so much more nurturing and compassionate, and I can actually see him becoming a family man and making sure that his girls are taken care of, above all else. And I love it, and love him so much more because of it.
I have another ultrasound in 2 weeks, so that my doctor can see how big baby really is, since I'm measuring so far ahead. I'm looking forward to that.
My mom ordered the crib and we ordered her dresser. both should be here by mid December so hopefully I can get my dad to put them together once they arrive. D says he is going to paint her room, since I wanted it done, but with everything that's going on, and all the extra duties on him, I don't want him to worry about it. if her room doesn't get painted, that's ok, the color is this light tan neutral color so it's fine either way. I'm going to start on her mobile soon (something I can do while sitting down)
I've been banned from helping with any part of Thanksgiving. I was supposed to host at my house, but its been moved to my moms house, I will probably be taking Tylenol to make it through that day. We are supposed to make stops at my moms, my dads, and hubby's sisters house. I just look forward to a few days off to rest and relax. All day while working and staying seated I was fine, but I tried to go into baby's r us, to see if they had anything new (hard headed I know). and literally a few minutes after I was in the store I started feeling pressure and cramps. So that tells me everything I need to know, that I really need to stay off my feet, and that includes driving, cause I felt them in the car also.

Updates:
How Far Along? 30 weeks 4 days (week 31)

Symptoms: Fatigue, braxton hicks, pressure, and sleeplessness. Oh and I think I'm starting to nest, cause I am feeling really anxious about getting things done, and not being able to do them myself.

Total Weight Gain: still holding at 183

Measurement: I am measuring at 41.5 inches. No denying that I am pregnant now!

Maternity Clothes: I am in full maternity wear. except maternity underwear. I refuse to wear those.

Stretch Marks: no stretch marks on my belly. I have two forming on my sides (one on each side) but I'm trying to keep them oiled so that they don't spread. lol

Sleep: Ugh sleep is hard to come by. I'm tired, but between bathroom breaks, my mind racing with thoughts, braxton hicks, and just general restlessness its hard to go to sleep. Once I am asleep I'm out like a light!

Food Cravings: I'm still loving simply orange juice with mango and hot chocolate has been added to the rotation. (not at the same time though. lol) nothing has changed here.


Best Moment This Week: Its still funny watching my belly move, and hubby can now see when she balls up on one side and makes my tummy lopsided or when she sticks a body part out he can feel it.   

Movement: All the time, all day long. lol

Labor Signs: Ugh, as I said earlier, painful braxton hicks that are causing my uterus to be irritable, so I don't think I'm gonna make it to my due date.

Belly Button In or Out? Total outtie at this point

What I Miss: I really miss sleeping on my back. I miss being intimate with mu hubby comfortably (TMI I know), I definitely miss not being in pain at this point. I still love being pregnant, and want my baby to bake as long as possible, but I'm ready to feel like myself again.

What I Am Looking Forward To: I'm looking forward to my ultrasound in 2 weeks, my maternity photos, baby showers, setting up her room, and of course meeting my baby!

Milestones: Umm does truly knowing what braxton hicks are count as a milestone? lol

Weekly Wisdom: Slow down has a whole new meaning for me now. Not that I didn't understand I was pregnant before, but with having to change the way I do things, has really made me understand where I'm at now. I start 8 months next week. and now realize that if I don't drink alot more water, rest, and stay off my feet alot more, then I will put myself in alot of pain. I never realized how independent i was until now. It is killing me to not really do anything and to sit back and let other people take care of me, but I know that's what I have to do for myself and my baby.

Baby

Ok I have not forgotten about my getting our house in order posts. I will probably post another installment tomorrow. I just wanted to update on all things baby.
from my last post, my dad has gotten my breast pump, and its' now sitting upstairs in her bedroom. I've already opened it and looked at all the parts, but I probably wont sterilize it until closer to my due date, because I have nowhere to put the sterilized parts to ensure that they stay sterilized until I;m ready to use them. My mom still has not ordered the crib, hopefully she does that today before the sale that's going on is over.
We did take the breast feeding class last weekend, which was very informative and interesting. We did not make it to the tour of the hospital because we had a meeting after church that ran longer than I thought it would. So now our only option with the class is to go in December which is on the same day of my shower. so that means I would have to go to the tour and then run back across town to make it to my shower. we will see how that works out. We also didn't take maternity photos on Saturday, but that was ok cause I was really tired after going to the class and running some errands after that. We rescheduled pics for next Monday. Hubby and I are both off that day, so that should work out good.
Speaking of showers, my mom and sister decided on a place for mine, so invites should be going out sometime next week. I'm still looking for something to wear, I saw a dress online at old navy that was really cute but its not on sale anymore. I;m going to keep my eye on it and if it goes back on sale i will get it, and if not I will probably just end up buying it straight out.
Baby is doing good. she does more rolling, pushing, and stretching now, more so that big kicks. I still catch her moving from the outside, but every time someone else tries to catch her she stops. lol. my baby is camera and people shy. she only likes to move for mommy. I'm going to try to get some gym work outs in this week, but we will see. Its funny when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror these days, cause when I look down, I don't feel that big, but when i see myself in a mirror I'm like whoa I'm huge! luckily the only places i have gained wight seems to be my belly and my chest. which reminds me, its time to go bra shopping again. the one i am wearing is uncomfortable. So I will probably go get more this weekend.
I'm trying to get hubby to paint her room soon. I want it done before my shower and he doesn't really have alot of free days to do it based on his work schedule. But I don't want to become a nag.

Updates:
How Far Along? 28 weeks 5 days (week 29)
Symptoms: The only real symptom I have been feeling is fatigue. No other real symptoms for now. Thank God
 
Total Weight Gain: I’m now 183 :(

Measurement: I am measuring at 39.5 inches. No denying that I am pregnant now!

Maternity Clothes: I am in full maternity wear. except maternity underwear. I refuse to wear those.

Stretch Marks: none yet. I have some itching every now and then, but I try not to scratch, and then I make sure to apply my belly cream.

Sleep: Some nights I go to sleep right away with minimal bathroom breaks, other nights it takes forever to get comfortable and then I get restless leg syndrome, and those are the nights I have to get up a million times to go to the bathroom, so its kinda a toss up on sleep at this point.

Food Cravings: I'm still loving simply orange juice with mango and hot chocolate has been added to the rotation. (not at the same time though. lol)


Best Moment This Week: Watching my belly roll as she rolls around and stretches. I was also able to feel a body part with my hand last week. It was small like an elbow, knee, or foot, but I'm not sure which part it was.  

Movement: All the time, all day long. lol

Labor Signs: none! hopefully not for another 8 weeks at least

Belly Button In or Out? Pretty much an outtie at this point. There is like a little part at the top that doesn't fully stick out yet. it feels so weird when it bumps into things. lol

What I Miss: I really miss sleeping on my back. That was my usual way of sleeping before pregnancy, and I cant wait to be able to go back to that again. I'm also starting to miss my old figure. I like being pregnant and I like the way I look, I'm just starting to miss the old me and am kinda ready to get me back. (not too soon though)

What I Am Looking Forward To: I'm looking forward to the rest of my classes, my maternity photos, my shower, setting up her room, the holidays, and of course meeting my baby.

Milestones: Movement visible from the outside

Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy the process. From the beginning of my pregnancy I kept wanting things to speed up so I could get to the fun part. lol. Now being to the point where I realize that I only have about 8-11 weeks left, I have to remind my self to slow down and enjoy the process.

quick update

Before I post the second instalment of getting our house in order, I wanted to come in and give a quick update, I'm sooo glad that things are coming together. We had to pick another crib for her room because my mom didn't know that the original crib is back ordered. So we picked another crib from baby's r us which came with an attached changing table. This crib is also convertible. It goes from crib, to toddler bed, to daybed, to full sized bed. I love this crib

 

We also ended up ordering a dresser for her because if we ordered one with the crib it would be an additional $100 off due to a sale that was going on.

Aaaaannnnnndddd my dad is going to go pick up my breast pump today since it was on sale also.

 And he's going to give me my brother old toy box, which is red and tan and I'm going to get it painted either pink, lavender, grey, or something similar to the dark color of the crib. I don't have a picture of that though.For now it will probaby be used for additional storage since she won't be playing with toys right away. We also picked out her bedding and added it to the registry.

Now I feel like her room is really coming together. The only furniture piece we really need to decide on now is the glider. But I think I'm going to wait until the black Friday sales start and see if I can get a really good deal. My dad volunteered to make the wooden letters of her name on the wall above her crib, so that's taken care of. probably sometime this month I am going to start on her mobile. This is what I am gonna do:

What else is going on? Well we have the breastfeeding class Saturday and maternity photos on Saturday. We also have the tour of the hospital after church on Sunday. I have alot of laundry to do between now and Saturday, but that's really it for my housekeeping. Other than vacuuming and mopping my floors. Oh and I need to do some dusting. For our maternity pics we are still working on clothes. For the ones in our house, we decided to wear white long sleeved button up shirts (mine unbuttoned to show my belly, and blue jeans. For the beach photos. If its not cold, then I will wear a colorful maxidress and hubby will wear a linen outfit. If it is cold, then hubby says that he will wear a polo sweater and some jeans and IDK what I will wear.
These are the kind of photos we like:

getting our house in order (part 1)

In church right now we are discussing working on getting our house in order. Not necessarily our actual house (although for some people like me, that may be part of it). It means getting your life in order. The main point being, how can you truly serve God if you have all these other distractions going on. I mean think about it. Are you really focused on God and getting closer to him when your children are disruptive, or your house is dirty, or you can't find your water bill, or your finances are out of whack and you don't know if you are going to be able to pay rent this month? The answer (at least for me, and everyone else I know) is a big fat NO! SO you have to get your house/ life in order so that you can truly focus on God and the things that he needs you to do.
So I had to sit down and look at the areas of my life that I need to get in order and get on schedule to make my household run smoother and help hubby and I be focused on our main priority: God.
Getting my house in order for me is finances, organization, cooking, cleaning/ laundry, and personal maintenance. I didn't include anything spiritual yet, because that's the point of getting my house in order. I can't even focus on God, cause I'm so stressed about other things. So I listed each category and reasons why these are out of order, and what I'm going to do to fix them.

Finances:
Whats Wrong: no real budget, bills are getting paid but balances are not decreasing, no real money going into savings each month, output is waaay to close to what we bring in.

Solutions: We sat down and created a current realistic budget. this way we could see exactly what we had left at the end of the month, and what we could change to increase that. We also took all our debts, listed their monthly payment amounts, interest rates, and total balance owed. By doing this we were able to pinpoint which debt we wanted to pay off first. its a loan that has a high monthly payment and an extremely high interest rate (basically 80% of our monthly payment was going towards interest). We decided to take that one and use the overtime money that my husband gets every month (pretty much as much as he chooses), and pay an extra $200/m towards the principle. doing this will cut the balance in half in a year.

We also have 3 credit cards and two store cards that we pay a total of $250 per month on. Now this is more than what the monthly minimum payment is for each card, but we need to do more. In December hubby gets a bonus from his job. We are going to take a portion of that bonus and pay off the cards. (the rest of the bonus goes in the savings for things for the baby and general savings). Now we know that we have to use the cards in order for them to stay active and for the companies to not close the cards or lower the amount we are approved to use. In order to prevent that, we decided to use the cards to pay our utilities and miscellaneous bills (IE: electricity, water, cable, cell phones, Internet, and student loans). We will use the store cards for any clothing or household needs that come up, but it has to be within the amount budgeted for that within that month. Once we do that, we pay the balance off each card in full each month (before interest charges) using the money we were already using to pay those bills. The $250 we were paying on credit card payments each month will now go into our savings account.

Oh speaking of student loans. they are in default (bad, bad, I know, I know). Well I talked to the loan reps yesterday and we are starting the payment plan to get them out of default next month. These payments are high and are one reason why we had to alter our budget, but it is worth it to get hubby's credit back in order so that when we refinance this house or buy another house, we can get more bank for our buck. lol. Also of course we just want hubby's credit to be good overall. Plus this payment plan is only for 9 months and then we will be able to go back to his previously lower payments. 

I still have to figure out how to lower our food budget. I know I will be cooking more, but groceries are expensive too! I will be searching for things online and report back. I'm also gonna start printing coupons.

Another thing that affects our finances somewhat is my job. We talked about it and decided that even though I don't like my job, it is the best thing for our family right now. I work from home for the government (not gonna say what I do), but  I get to write off the square footage my office from my mortgage, my computer, a portion of my Internet, electricity, and water bill. I also don't have to buy work clothes, or use my gas. so we save on gas and on mileage and wear and tear to the car. I'm also more likely to buy lunch when I am around a group of people going out to lunch, so this makes me stay home. So with all of that, we decided its way more cost efficient, unless I find a great paying job, for me to stay where I am now, after I come back from maternity leave.

We are also in the process of trying to find a home based business to start so that we can generate more income and have more tax write offs. I will report back with what I have found.

Checklist

I needed to make a checklist of everything else that I need to do by the end of my pregnancy, month by month: I'll hopefully update it as i go along

October:

• work out
• get maternity photo outfits together (pink, purple, red sundress for beach pics for me, and linen outfit for D, hopefully it won't be too cold, but I really want those nice beach shots. and black pants and a white button up for the pics in the house for me, and same for D). I also need to decide on jewelry, hair, nails, and make-up
• End of 2nd trimester!

November:

• Breastfeeding class
• maternity pictures
• Tea and Tour (hospital tour)
• Doctor's appointment
• Veteran's Day!
• Childbirth class (2 days)
• another doctor's appointment
• Thanksgiving! (which I am hosting this year)
• Black Friday (I definitely want to shop the sales to see if there are any small items we need for the house, or something I want to get for the baby)

December:

• Baby Shower!
• doctor appointment
• I'm also having another shower, given to me by my church but IDK when that is
• Some of the guys from my church are thinking about trying to give D a man shower lol. I was told that at a man shower you grill, watch the game, play video games and ping pong, and the guys give diapers, and gift cards to home depot and gift cards for baby furniture and stuff. Man stuff. lol. I think its a really cute idea and hopefully they decide to do it.
• Sometime after both showers, we will go down our lists and see what else we need and go pick everything up
• Do thank you notes
• Get crib put together
• Complete her room
• Do a birth plan
• Pre-register at hospital
• do any pre-certs required by our insurance
• get emergency lists and emergency kits together
• Start touring day cares
• Decide on a pediatrician and go on tours
• doctor appointment
• Christmas!
• Pack hospital bags and make sure everything is set up
• New Years Eve!

January:

• New Years Day!
• Dr appointment
• purchase whatever I am going to use for belly binding
• D's B-day
• Dr appointment
• wash newborn clothes
• Doctor appointment
• make sure house is totally in order
• doctor appointment
• Due Date!

Busy, busy, busy

Wow time is flying by. I have less than 100 days until baby due. I have soooo much on my plate to take care of.

For the month of November we have a weekend long childbirth/ infant care class, a breast feeding class, A tour of the maternity ward, 2 doctor's appointments (eek, I start my two week appointments next month!), and maternity pictures. Not counting the 2 holidays we have in November. Then I have my baby shower the first weekend in December. That's alot. I still need to figure out a birth plan, find a daycare and get on the waiting list, and find a pediatrician. I also would need to finish her room after my shower and pack our hospital bags, I plan on doing all that in December. I'm sure there are other things I'm missing also but I will figure it out as I go along.
 
I still need to finish organizing and unpacking (5 more boxes to go!) our new house, I also want to decorate for the holidays.I don't think we are really gonna do gifts this year, cause all our funds are going to baby, and I don't really need anybody to get us anything else. Unless they want to get me a prenatal massage or a mani and pedi.  I'm going to have to buckle down and finish our room in the next two weeks cause some of our pictures will be taken in there.
 
Oh yeah and did I mention that Hubby's family is coming over to see the house this weekend, I still have to figure out what we are wearing for the pictures, which poses I like, and what I am wearing for my shower? Yay me. lol. I am not complaining at all, this is the fun part of pregnancy. Its just a little overwhelming.
 
I need to start making my lists of things I need to do. I like checklists cause I feel a sense of accomplishment when I check stuff off or finish my list. I have an app on my phone called color notes that is great for this. I'm also going to make my lists here.
 
I am going to try to take a photo today. I've totally given up on my idea of doing a album of a photo a week, but I am going to do either a photo book or scrapbook of my maternity shoot and display it at my shower. That's why we are taking pics so early, I want people to be able to see them, not just have pics for us. I haven't decided yet which one I'm gonna do, photo books are really pretty but expensive, scrapbooks are nice, but they are more work and the presentation isn't as nice. I'm probably gonna go with the photo book, but we will see.

I'm going to make my checklist for the rest of this week and next week
I'm not going to put dates by things, cause I'm kinda paranoid about people knowing where I am and what I'm doing on any given date (probably why I don't update my status much on face book)

• Go grocery shopping for gathering
• Try to finish unpacking boxes
• Pick up clutter around the house
• host get together
• clean up after get together (lol)
• grocery shop for next week
• gym at least twice next week
• work on ideas for shower pictures
• continue to think about what we are going to wear for photos
• of course I have church and bible study included in there also

that's really all that I can think of right now. I know there is more I need to do this next week, but I cant currently wrap my mind around it. Oh well, I will update it as I go.

Oh yeah, I did finally finish my registry. I'm a little worried that people are going to think it's too many expensive items on there, but I was told not to register for small stuff or clothes, and that people would give those anyway. So the only thing left was the bigger items. I didn't want to register for things we didn't like just to have cheaper stuff on our registry. Then we would be stuck with a bunch of stuff we don't even like. I figure if a few people bought us the stuff on our registry, then great. We would just have to get the other things ourselves but at least I would have a list of the things that I need and want. I also finally picked out her bedding! It's light pink and lavender with butterflies on it. I love it so much. I want hubby to paint her walls a light grey, but I'm still working on that. lol. That will also be the theme and colors for my baby shower. And now that I decided on that, I can start working on her crystal mobile and the other things for her room. I'm going to get a wall decal with her name and butterflies for above her crib. My mom is buying her crib, so we still need to get a dresser for her room and get a glider. I will probably get this glider I saw in walmart. I love the pottery barn style gliders, but I do not want to spend $300-$800 on a chair. I will probably pick alot of stuff up during the after Christmas sales.

Baby Update

Ummmm yeah, so I have no excuse, other than the fact that we closed on our house, moved in and cleaned out our old apartment one week, went on vacation the next week, and are now trying to figure out a routine that work for us in this new space.
I'm so far behind on my updates IDK why I'm even doing them anymore, but I will try to press forward. lol

How Far Along? 25 weeks 3 days (week 26)

Symptoms: I get really tired out of nowhere sometimes, but other than that and breast tenderness, no real symptoms

Total Weight Gain: I’m now 178, but my doctor says this is ok, considering my actual weight before I started working out and doing the colon cleanse prior to pregnancy, I was at 163, I have gained 15 pounds. I'm looking to get down to about 145 after I have the baby though.

Measurement: I am measuring at 37.5 inches. No denying that I am pregnant now! 

Maternity Clothes: I am in full maternity wear. except maternity underwear.  I refuse to wear those.

Stretch Marks: none yet. I have some itching every now and then, but I try not to scratch, and then I make sure to apply my belly cream.

Sleep: Some nights I go to sleep right away with minimal bathroom breaks, other nights it takes forever to get comfortable and then I get restless leg syndrome, and those are the nights I have to get up a million times to go to the bathroom, so its kinda a toss up on sleep at this point.  

Food Cravings: All my adversions are gone.  I can eat anything! lol. I usually start my meal really hungry, but then end up not being able to finish it all. It's weird. I am currently craving orange juice. Specifically Simply Orange juice with mango. Its delicious! 

Best Moment This Week: Seeing my belly move a little bit when she kicked. I was only able to see it once, but I'm sure over the coming weeks, I will be able to see her more.

Movement:know that will change soon.

Labor Signs: none! Prayerfully not for at least another 11-12 weeks

Belly Button In or Out? Pretty much an outtie at this point. There is like a little part at the top that doesn't fully stick out yet. it feels so weird when it bumps into things. lol

What I Miss: I really miss sleeping on my back. That was my usual way of sleeping before pregnancy, and I cant wait to be able to go back to that again.

What I Am Looking Forward To: I look forward to us taking classes in November, my shower in December, and my maternity pics. Hopefully in November. And I am really looking forward to the holiday season.

Milestones: Movement!

Weekly Wisdom: Slow down! Funny that this is still my weekly wisdom. I have learned that I have a bad habit of not being able to rest. I have been pushing myself past my tiredness and then end up crashing for like a day or two. I need to stop trying to go every where and do everything and stop believing I can be as active as I was before.

And goals for this week are: to cook at least twice this week, go to the gym at least once, and finish unpacking our suitcases from our vacation. Oh and also work on our budget.

Random

Ok, Ok, Ok, so I know that I'm all kinds of wrong for not updating this blog in ages. :( I SAWWWY.
Life has been really busy lately. We are closing on the house in 3 weeks, and ask me how many boxes I've packed........ 0! So I'm gonna get on that starting today. I also need to post my checklist for packing and moving to make sure that I don"t forget anything. I'm gonna do a full out baby update and house update tomorrow. I do my walk thru tomorrow so maybe I will take some pics of that, and I'll just do my regular baby update for tomorrow too.
Oh by the way this little GIRL is kicking the mess out of my cervix.
Yep you read that right we are having a girl, and we couldn't be more ecstatic.
We are throwing around names, but we are really leaning towards Isabella, which means consecrated to God. Her middle name is still up in the air.
I'm just really starting to feel her movements now. before I could feel her if i concentrate and have my hand on my belly where she was kicking at. Now I feel her randomly throughout the day. :)
Talk to ya tomorrow!

Baby Update

I wrote this on Friday

How Far Along? 13 weeks 6 days (week 14)

Symptoms: I'm finally starting to even out with the symptoms. I still get really tired sometimes out of nowhere, but the nausea and breast tenderness have both slowed sown. they haven't gone away completely, but they have definitely decreased.I have started to get a new symptom where sometimes if I get up too fast my heart starts racing. So I have to be more careful and try to move slower. 

Total Weight Gain: I’m still holding at 166. I haven;t been to the gym at all this week, so I know my doctor is going to kill me in two weeks.

Measurement: I am now measuring 35 inches. I am officially showing, but I think to people who don't know, I just look like I have gained weight.

Maternity Clothes: I am in full maternity wear. I've bought a dress and a few more tops, so I am out of my old clothes except for a few pieces.

Stretch Marks: none yet. I have some itching every now and then, but I try not to scratch, and then I make sure to apply my belly cream.

Sleep: still very tired. It takes a minute to get comfortable, but once I am, I am dead to the world until i have to go to the bathroom or it's time to get up. Nothing’s changed here

Food Cravings: No real cravings. Still have an aversion to beef and pork though. Oh yeah and as of today I'm adding milk and/or cereal to that list of aversions. I ate beef twice this week, with no problems and I'm going to eat it tomorrow so we will see if that little aversion is gone.

Best Moment This Week: Finding out from my doctor that hubby does not carry the thalasemia trait, so the baby does not have a chance of having thalasemia! Also our offer got approved on the house we wanted! Oh yeah and feeling the baby!

Movement: Like I just said, I felt the baby move. I was laying on my back at night and concentrating and I felt what felt like little taps from the inside. It was so cool.

Labor Signs: none! Prayerfully not for at least another 23 weeks

Belly Button In or Out? In, but its way more shallow than it was before

What I Miss: A clean house! I have just been really lazy. I also miss eating food at home, but it’s hard to cook, when everything I normally like, does not taste good.

What I Am Looking Forward To: seeing the baby again and finding out the gender in September.

Milestones: Movement!

Weekly Wisdom: Slow down!
And goals for this week are to go to the gym twice, go grocery shopping, clean out my fridge, do at least two loads of laundry, and pack at least 3 boxes. Whew! that's alot, but we have alot going on.

SO as I said our offer on a home was accepted, and we have a closing of mid September. So that means packing, packing, packing, and throwing away crap. We have alot to do. I know most of the packing will fall on me but I;m okay with that, because then I can get rid of all of hubby's junk lol.
Hubby will be painting our apartment back to its original color next weekend while I am out of town, so baby wont have to inhale paint fumes.
I LOVE our house. It has everything we want and we didn't even think we would get some of these things in our first place. Its an end unit town home, brand new built in 2012 and its 1500 square feet. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. its a very open floor plan. Downstairs is hardwood flooring with carpet upstairs. I have a huge island in my kitchen and stainless steel appliances. The master is pretty big and the master bath has double sinks and a separate tub and shower. I love all the little extras like the crown moulding throughout the entire downstairs and the tray ceiling in the master. There is alot of storage space and lots of windows. Its so beautiful. I will definitely post pictures after we close.
So this is a big year for us. New house, new baby. it's amazing. I feel very grateful and very blessed.
Here is my week 14 pic:

Baby Update

So I wrote this yesterday, but for some reason I forgot to post it then.

How Far Along? 12 weeks 5 days (week 13)

Symptoms: I’ve had nausea and have thrown up a few times. But starting yesterday, I haven’t really been feeling sick. Hopefully I don’t jinx myself by saying that. Lol. The breast tenderness is still going on, but hopefully that tapers off too. My breasts have grown, but it’s at a weird size, where I’m 2 big for my current bras, but if I go up the next size, I’m too small. SO I don’t know what to do about that

Total Weight Gain: I’m at 166 now. L I have made it a goal to do better about going to the gym next month. I don’t want my doctor to tell me that I have gained too much weight again at my August appointment.

Measurement: I am still measuring 34.5 inches. This is weird because I am officially showing now. J

Maternity Clothes: I officially have a maternity wardrobe lol. Between my sisters old clothes, and the things that I have bought I have: 7 pants (2 khaki, 2 dress, 3 jeans), Jogging suit, 3 long sleeved shirts, 6 t-shirts, 7 dress tops, 4 dresses, And I still have a few tops that should get me through at least half of my 2^nd trimester. I only have one paid of regular jeans that I can still fit. And since the belly band is not an option, I will be switching over to maternity pants. I tried some on yesterday, and they are soooo comfortable! They don’t look like maternity pants either. I guess since I don’t have the ones with the full belly panel, they feel more like regular jeans to me.

Stretch Marks: none yet. I have some itching every now and then, but I try not to scratch, and then I make sure to apply my belly cream.

Sleep: still very tired. It takes a minute to get comfortable, but once I am, I am dead to the world until i have to go to the bathroom or it's time to get up. Nothing’s changed here

Food Cravings: No real cravings. Still have an aversion to beef and pork though. Oh yeah and as of today I'm adding milk and/or cereal to that list of aversions.

Best Moment This Week: My nephew wanting my sister to buy a stuffed animal for his “Fishie” what he calls the baby. Actually anytime we are in a store remotely related to anything baby, he gathers up all the baby items he can hold and declares that Fishie needs all of this stuff. Lol. It’s so cute. Oh also him trying to talk to the baby through my belly button. lol

Movement: none yet. Excitedly waiting on that

Labor Signs: none! Prayerfully not for at least another 26 weeks

Belly Button In or Out? In, but its way more shallow than it was before

What I Miss: A clean house! I have just been really lazy. I also miss eating food at home, but it’s hard to cook, when everything I normally like, does not taste good.

What I Am Looking Forward To: feeling movement

Milestones: Buying maternity clothes and accepting that I have to wear them. lol

Weekly Wisdom: don’t try to do everything at one time. I’m going to set small weekly goals for myself to try and accomplish and check in with whether I have done them or not. Starting this week, I want to go to the gym at least twice, cook at least once, and clean my kitchen and living room.

Ok so like I said I’m to start with small weekly goals, because at this point, I feel like I’m not getting anything done. So at least I can feel some sort of accomplishment at the end of the week, even though I may not have done everything.
I can’t believe I’m showing! I had a serious convo with the hubby, because I was silently stressing about showing and about my weight gain. I didn’t want him to think I was fat and wanted to make sure that he was still attracted to me, Of course he assured me that he was still very much attracted to me and that he didn’t think I was getting fat, I am pregnant. Lol. I think my fear of starting to show comes from reading too much online. On the pregnancy message boards, most women say they didn’t start showing until they were like 16-20 weeks along. Seeing as how I’m only in week 13, I thought that something was wrong and that I was maybe eating too much and just getting fat. I’ve come to accept that every pregnancy is different as far as size and weight gain. Also I’m short (5’2) so my weight has nowhere to go but out. Lol. And hubby also pointed out, that I really don’t eat a lot, but I have been eating mainly fast food, since that’s been the only thing to really taste good to me, and I haven’t been cooking either. So I have to cook more and start going back to the gym. I also need to really up my water intake.

Here is my week 13 photo:

Baby Updates

Ok, so I totally missed last week. This weekly updating thing is harder than i thought. I'm not gonna do an update now, since I will be doing one on Thursday for this week. I'll just give you some highlights of last week.
SO I went to the doctor and he decided to keep my due date the same because I was positive of when my last menstrual period was and of my time frame for conception. so I'm back at being due on February 2nd. I opted out of getting the NT scan because we are still fairly young and not in the age category for the risk of those diseases. we also don't have anyone any our immediate families with any issues. We also figured that since we were not going to terminate, there would be no sense in worrying about what ifs, and if something was truly wrong it would come up later on our 20 week scan.
The doctor also had my hubby blood tested for thalasemia, so we should know the results of that soon. For anyone that doesn't know, thalasemia is a blood disorder where you are severely anemic. to the point where you may have to have blood transfusions every year. I recently found out that I am a carrier of the disorder (you can be a carrier, but not have the disease. Kinda like sickle cell). and hubby had to be tested to see if he is a carrier. if he doesn't, then great baby does not have a chance of getting it. But if he is a carrier, then baby has  1 in 4 chance of having the disease. I'm praying everything turns out ok, and will probably call the doctor next week if I don't hear back from them before then.
We were also able to hear baby's heartbeat at my appointment. I have another appointment in 3 weeks, and then in mid September I have my gender scan! (Unless we decide to pay to find out early).
I've started to show a little bit. Although at this point I'm convinced its more fat than baby. lol
You can only tell when I don't have a shirt on or when I have on a fitted top. Oh, by the way the belly band is the devil! I hate it sooo much. It only works good if I am going to be standing the whole time I'm wearing it. When I sit down with it, it rolls up. SO at the moment I only have 1 pair of jeans and one pair of dress pants that fit comfortably. I'm not ready to break out the maternity pants yet. I think I'm just gonna go buy a few dresses to hold me over until I get into maternity clothes.

And in other news, I've dyed my hair back black. I loved my color but it was causing my hair to break off. my hair in the front of my head (where it was dyed the lightest) is the same length it was 7 months ago when I dyed it. I know it has grown because of my roots. I probably had over two inches of growth in my roots, but the length stayed the same so I knew that it had to be breakage. So I decided to go back to black since my hair seems to not be able to handle color. I'll make sure you can see my hair when I take my picture for this week.

Well, this update was way longer than I intended it to be. Hope i didn't bore you too much. See you Thursday!