{Pregnancy Tidbits} The 6th Month

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The baby is a approximately 2 lbs now!!  My belly gets bigger by the week and it feels like I am rubbing bellies with anyone I hug LOL.  When I look down the only thing I see are my toes and sometimes a portion of the tops of my feet.  :)  Here is the belly at 27 weeks and 6 days …  picture was posted on Instagram yesterday:

28weeksPregnant

Pregnancy Tidbits from Weeks 23-27

Random Tidbits

Gender – Jellybean is STILL a girl!  Why “still” you might be asking?  Since finding out the gender of our little one people have told us numerous stories of the ultrasound technician saying the baby was a girl and then on the day of the baby’s birth … BOOM it’s a boy!  I’m pretty confident about Jellybean’s gender as we’ve been fortunate to have it confirmed by three different technicians at three separate appointments.  So … JB is still a girl!

Gestational Diabetes Test – Came by NEGATIVE.  YAY!

Due Date – December 23, 2013.  Even if she’s late I’m praying for a 2013 baby and not 2014 :)

Wedding Rings – Are still on!

Strangers – have started to acknowledge the pregnancy.  Some people look at the belly, then at me and smile while others engage me in conversation.  They inquire about the due date and gender or give advise on parenting.  Luckily none of these strangers have attempted to touch the belly … yet!

Symptoms

Congestion and Heavy Breathing … OK it’s Snoring  – At night I have been experiencing some congestion and snoring.  Though I have certainly woken the husband up on numerous occasions to point out (read complain) that he is snoring I don’t think he has ever woken me up.  Enter day 173 of pregnancy … at 3am … Husband – “Sweetie you aren’t suppose to sleep on your back and ummm you are snoring.”  Me – “Oh sorry.”  I turn over and promptly go back to sleep.  The next morning I awake to my daily bump email, which couldn’t have been more accurate!  I promptly forwarded the email to the hubby while chuckling to myself.  Quoted from Baby Bump App daily email:

“Day 173 – Don’t Be Such a Snore…  It’s 3:00 AM, and you and your partner are sound asleep. Correction: YOU are sound asleep. Your unfortunate partner is wide awake, listening to you loudly snoring away. He gently wakes you, telling you that you were snoring again, and maybe even plays back some evidence on his cell phone’s voice recorder. Take comfort in the fact that you’re in good company: plenty of pregnant women develop snoring problems, even if they’ve never snored before. It’s caused by extra weight and swollen mucous membranes in your nose, which can lead to more congestion. To help lessen the noise, try wearing a nasal strip to bed. You can also use a warm-mist humidifier in your bedroom, which will moisten your airways and help keep them clear. Soon enough, the two of you can start getting your much-needed rest.”

Movement

Jellybean is moving more and more.  Every movement is like a little gift and puts a smile on my face.  One night she was kicking from 3-4am and I loved every second.  Luckily it was a weekend so I could catch up on some zzz’s the next day. :)

Maternity Clothes

Same as the 5th month – 90% maternity clothing with a sprinkle of my old clothes, sweat pants/shirts and the husband’s shirts.

Missing Anything?

Sushi – Specifically a spicy tuna roll.  WANT … like it’s going out of style.

Happy Hour –  And not really the drinking part, but the social aspect.  You might be thinking “you can go to HH when pregnant, just don’t drink”, which of course is true.  But honestly, for me,  HH just isn’t the same pregnant.

Highlights

24 week ultrasound – with my little sister.

Making progress on the nursery – We’ve picked out a paint color and purchased a dresser/nightstand.

Looking Forward To…

Meeting our little one! 

Finishing the Nursery.

Fears/Concerns

Labor – Yup, still nervous about delivery!  And still pretending like it isn’t going to happen.

Sophi – adjusting to life as a big sister.  My parents always tell the story of my childhood dog, Shanna, hanging out under the bed for a 2 months after I was born.  Apparently she would only come out from under the bed to eat and go to the bathroom.  I worry Sophi is either going to become a little monster in protest of no longer being the baby of the family OR she will get depressed.  Either way my two babies are already bonding a little bit or so I would like to think!  Here is Sophi cuddling with the baby (belly) …

BellyandSophi

With the 6th month over we have officially entered the third trimester.  Seriously, where has the time gone?  Just 12 weeks +/- until Jellybean makes her debut … I can’t wait!

Any pregnancy tidbits you care to share?  I would love to hear them!

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Pregnancy Essentials … so far

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Each pregnancy is different and everyone has their own list of must haves for being pregnant.  I really appreciated all the tidbits my friends, coworkers and family shared with me on what I need or will need to help me enjoy being pregnancy.  Let me be honest; I have good days and bad days.  Sometimes I LOVE being pregnant and other times December can’t come soon enough.

It’s a roller coaster ride for sure, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  It took some trial and error in the first trimester, but I slowly identified what “stuff” was essential to a “happy pregnant Nicole”.

So here are my pregnancy essentials … at least so far! :)

Pregnancy Must Haves and Essentials for all trimesters | Life's Tidbits

{1}  Snoogle Total Body Pregnancy Pillow with Jersey Knit Cover
After sleeping SO well the first trimester I was shocked at how uncomfortable I was in the second.  While maternity clothes shopping, my mom made friends with another grandmother-to-be and her daughter.  The woman swore by this pillow and after a 5 minute conversation on “why this pillow is a-mazing” I was sold.  I LOVE this pillow … I’m not sure the husband does though as he keeps joking he has been “replaced”.  I should have invested in a pregnancy pillow sooner!

{2}  Kashi Chewy Granola Bars
I keep at least two granola bars in my purse at all times. I learned the hard way in the first trimester that if I skip a meal or wait too long to eat I start to feel horrible. Granola bars have been a life saver when we are on the go!

{3}  Manis and Pedis {I love the OPI colors!}
A little pampering for the Mom-to-be never hurt anyone, right?!?!

{4}  Cotton Lace Waist Thong
Comfy underwear is a must! I purchased these a size larger than I normally wear to give the tummy room to grow.  They have a good amount of stretch and I probably could have stuck with my normal size (at least so far … we shall see how the 3rd trimester goes).

{5}  What to Expect When Your Expecting
To quote myself from an older post … “This book is a classic.  It comes in handy when I have questions like “is this <insert pain/ache/feeling> normal?”.  Unlike Goggling it doesn’t give all these horror stories …”

A lot of moms and moms-to-be have mentioned Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Lotion is a pregnancy must.  I just started using it about two weeks ago when the belly started getting itchy.  Luckily my friend warned me this was on the horizon so the lotion had already been purchased before the itchiness began.  I’m not sure if it will make it onto my pregnancy essential list, but will definitely keep you posted.  :)

What are/were your pregnancy must haves?

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{Pregnancy Tidbits} The 5th Month

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Hello second trimester it is SOOOO nice to see you! Morning (really all day) sickness is .. GONE!  HOLLA!  I feel like myself again and while I’m still more tired than normal, early evening naps are no longer required. =)  The belly and baby keep on growing and growing.  I was surprised to compare my first belly picture to the updated one.  Here’s the belly at 22 weeks (and a couple days):

22 Weeks Pregnant, 5 Months | Life's Tidbits

Pregnancy Tidbits from Weeks 18-22

Random Tidbits

As previously announced Jellybean is a girl!

Belly button is out … already! POUT.  Apparently my inny/outty belly button is taking full advantage of being pregnant and has become a full blown outty.  Hopefully it goes back to “normal” after Jellybean makes her debut.

I am craving coffee, which is weird for someone who has never been a huge coffee drinker.  Regular coffee, iced coffee and lattes … I want them all multiple times a day.  Don’t worry though, despite the craving I am limiting myself to the doctor’s recommendation of only 1 cup of caffeine per day.

Symptoms

Leg cramps – Holy Charlie Horse Batman!  I don’t think I’ve had leg cramps/charlie horses like this since playing ice hockey and soccer in high school.  According to my handy dandy pregnancy book, leg cramps are completely normal.  I’ve been trying to stretch my calves and eat more bananas to combat these nightly legs cramps.

Back Pain – As the belly got bigger my back started to hurt.  The beginning of the 5th month was pretty uncomfortable, but it quickly subsided.

Easily Winded – I was glad the doctor warned me that I might become winded easily.  Although I wouldn’t say I am super in shape I’ve always been able to walk long distances and go up/down a flight of stairs without issue.  Now when I walk and talk for too many blocks I get winded.  Carrying my computer and purse up or down the stairs in my building while talking on the phone … also equals getting winded.

Movement

I felt the baby move for the first time the afternoon of our 20 week appointment.  It really does feel like a “flutter”.  For me, in the beginning, it was hard to determine if the sensation was the baby moving or well …. ummm … other stomach stuff … yeah let’s put it that way.  She tends to be most active right before I go to bed.  In fact the calmer and more still I am the more I can feel her move and kick.  The highlight of any day (or evening really) is when I feel her kick.

Maternity Clothes

I’m rocking 90% maternity clothes at this point.  Sweat pants, pajamas and a few flowy shirts about sums up the clothing that still fit over the belly.  I had been holding out on buying a bunch of maternity clothes when my mom made a good point.  The earlier I buy them the longer I get to wear them!  That was all the justification I needed.  At about 21 weeks pregnant my mom and I went shopping at Motherhood Maternity.  It was honestly the best thing she could have suggested we do while I visiting the family in Massachusetts.   I now have enough clothing options that I don’t have to wear the same things over and over again.  Plus in all honesty I’m far more comfortable in my new clothes then what was already in my closet.

Missing Anything?

Turkey breast sandwiches!

Highlights

Finding out Jellybean is a girl and feeling her move are definitely tied for first place this month.  A VERY close second would be the first time the husband felt Jellybean kick!!

Looking Forward To…

The 24 week ultrasound.  My little sister is coming into town and will be my wing woman for what will most likely be my last ultrasound!  It has been pretty special to see the Jellybean with the husband, my mom and even by myself.  I’m so excited though to share the moment with my little sister/Auntie-to-be.

No more traveling.  While I adored seeing so many friends and family in July, the 5 consecutive weekends of traveling was just too much for this pregnant gal.  The husband and I agreed early on in the pregnancy we were going on “travel maternity leave” starting in September.

Fears/Concerns

Gestational Diabetes Test.  I am not looking forward to this test at my 24 week appointment.  I know it is uncommon and the test will probably come back negative, but I’m still a little worried.

Labor!  Despite delivery being about 28 weeks away I am nervous about it.  I think I will continue to live in denial about it for a few more weeks … currently pulling an ostrich move and burying my head in the sand.  At some point soon facing this fear is a must.  =)

Any pregnancy tidbits you care to share?  I would love to hear them!

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Gender Reveal

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Nine times out of ten (it seems) the follow up question to “when is the baby due” tends to be “are you going to find out the gender?”.  As I mentioned in my first trimester tidbits post we quickly decided knowing the baby’s gender was a MUST.  I’m a planner by profession (what, what PMP certification LOL) and, well, it naturally carries over to my personal life.  The husband always jokes I’m his walking/talking calendar and to do list.

Anyways, here were the gender predictions:

  • Team Boy – Me, my sister and my dad
  • Team Girl – The hubby, my mom and 3 of my girlfriends
  • Team Who Knows – Everyone else.

I’ve heard stories of people who are at the doctors for over an hour trying to get their little one to turn/move into a position where they would be able to determine gender.  In fact, one of our cousins had to wait until her bundle of joy made HIS debut to find out her baby was a boy.  Jellybean on the other hand was chilling in the perfect position and it took the ultrasound technician just seconds to say …

ItsAGirl

I was absolutely shocked, because I was 100% convinced the baby was a boy.  Clearly, I am not a gender whisper-er  hahaha.  Either way I am THRILLED to being having a girl.  The hubby is very excited as well.  Some of his hilarious comments after finding out Jellybean was a girl included …

  • “I need to learn to play barbies.”
  • “What do girls like to play with?”
  • “She’s not dating until she’s 30!”  said completely straight faced and he was 90% serious.
  • And my personal favorite … “I guess this means we are paying for a wedding.”  If you know my husband, you know he’s extremely sarcastic and this was said (mostly) because he thought he was being funny.

I have vivid memories of being a little girl sitting at the dinner table, in the car or even walking down the street with my mother and sister chanting “girl power, girl power girl power” while pumping our fists into the air!!  My poor father was seriously outnumbered and soon enough the husband will be too.  With two daughters, a wife and a dog (who was also a girl) my dad was the only male in the house.  While he might like to pretend he’s a “man’s man”, luckily for us girls he is really a big teddy bear!  In honor of my “Girl Power” childhood memories I purchased the perfect onesie for Jellybean.

girlpower_onsie
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Now that we know we are having a GIRL it is time to get started on prepping the nursery, registering and all the other good pre-baby planning stuff.

Did you find out the gender of your baby?

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{Pregnancy Tidbits} The First Trimester

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In case you missed the big announcement last week … I’m pregnant!  I thought it would be fun to catch you up on all the first trimester tidbits.

pregnancyannouncement

Random Tidbits

December 23, 2013 – Baby’s Due Date

Sophi (our dog) – The first “person” I told I was pregnant.  Yes she “knew” before the husband that we were expecting.  I stupidly took the test while he was at work.  Then I had to patiently wait for him to get home.  He was SHOCKED I was able to hold in the BIG news long enough for him to change into comfy clothes and tell me about his day (which I barely listened – sorry hubby!).  I had him sit on the couch before showing him the positive pregnancy test!!

Jellybean – The baby’s nickname.  We were tired of referring the baby as “baby” or “it” so the husband quickly came up with Jellybean.  Jellybean has morphed into a variety of nicknames including JB, Jelly Belly and Jelly.  So our little one already has a number of nicknames and we haven’t even met him/her yet.

The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy – My doctor recommended this book at my very first “pregnant” appointment as well as prescribed prenatal vitamins.  This book is hilarious!  It’s written as though you are truly talking to your girlfriend.  I haven’t read it front to back, but I have enjoyed reading/skimming different chapters that apply to me.

What to Expect When you are Expecting – This book is a classic.  It comes in handy when I have questions like “is this <insert pain/ache/feeling> normal?”.  Unlike Goggling it doesn’t give all these horror stories … ladies if you are newly pregnant DO NOT GOOGLE.  It was advice I was given … didn’t take … and well probably should have because it would have saved me a lot of time spent on stressing/worrying.  This book, my friends, and doctors are MUCH better references {I’m still working on remembering this myself!}.

Gender – The husband and I agreed quickly to find out the gender of the baby at the 18 or 20 week ultrasound.  The husband says I am too much of a planner not to find out the gender before the baby arrived — he’s definitely got me pegged!

Sharing the BIG News

For the most part we tried to tell close friends and family in person.  There were of course cases where we had to tell people over the phone/text/email because of geographical limitations.  We convinced the husband’s parents to sign up for Skype so we could “test it for our trip to Mexico”.  I’m not sure if they completely believed our story, but happily accommodated our request.  This was the only way we could tell them about becoming grandparents without getting on a plane 2 months earlier than planned.  Everyone’s reaction to the pregnancy was a little different, however excitement was a consistent theme.  :)

A few of my favorite reactions …

“Nicole, are you sure? I don’t want to get excited if you aren’t sure!” – My Little Sister

“I knew it, I knew it, I knew it” followed by jumping out of her chair and screaming so loud the dog started barking – My Mother

“Is there something you want to tell me?” – Our friend Evan (Holding up the What to Expect When your Expecting Book … apparently I had forgotten to put the silly book away before he came for dinner!)

We slowly started telling all of our immediate family and very few close friends at about 7 weeks.  The rest of our family, friends as well as co-workers we told after 14 weeks.  A lot of people were surprised we waited so long to tell them.  Some of it was us being superstitious and the other part was wanting to get the thumbs up from the doctors for all those first trimester tests.  Let me just say though it was EXTREMELY hard not to share it with all our loved ones right away.  As the husband will attest I hate keeping “good secrets”.

Symptoms

Morning sickness / nausea – and let’s be honest this really needs to be renamed to ALL DAY sickness.  Or … how about pregnancy hangover?  I never actually got sick, but had that feeling I could get sick at any moment for most of the day.  Carbs quickly became my BFF.  I also started eating small snacks in between meals, which helped, but didn’t completely alleviate the issue.

Fatigue – At first I would attempt to relax {read sleep} on the couch after work.  It didn’t take long before I started getting into my sweats, grabbing the dog, pulling down the blackout blinds and climbing into bed.  The hubby was at times surprised to come home from work and find me in bed, asking “why are you in bed?” … my response, “I’m pregnant and tired and if I’m going to sleep I figured I should be comfortable!”  LOL.  At first I was worried I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night after an early evening nap, but 10pm would come and surprisingly I was more than ready to climb back into bed.

Heartburn –  I have never been one to get heartburn.  In fact the first time it happened I didn’t even know what it was.  While explaining the “feeling” to my husband and he just looked at me and said “Nicole, it’s heartburn”.  I was pretty surprised and after confirming with a couple friends and the doctor (twice) I started taking Tums to combat the heartburn.

What I Miss

I’m not going to lie, at first I really missed having a glass of wine when out to dinner.  Though I quickly got over it.  The thing I missed the most in the first trimester (heck the second too, so far) was not having to worry about what I was eating.  Until I was actually pregnant I didn’t realize how many restaurant dishes have raw egg, soft cheese, “raw” meat or other food on the no-no list for pregnant women.

Maternity Clothes

Around week 13 I gave in and started rocking some maternity clothes.  While I still “fit” into my non-maternity clothes they just weren’t comfortable.  The funniest part was that my shirts would have fit a lot longer if the “twins” had taken on a life of their own.  LOL!  In any case, my friend {love you Rebecca!} was kind enough to let me borrow her maternity clothes.  Although she didn’t have  a ton of warm weather clothes it was just enough to hold me over until I made it to the store.

I think that pretty much sums up the first trimester.  Did I miss anything??

Any tidbits from your 1st trimester you care to share?  I’d love to hear them!

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