Out with the Old, In with the New

In preparation for our expanding family, Greg decided that he needed a boat that would be better suited for children. After much research (I am pretty sure that he is now an expert on the subject), he decided which kind of boat he wanted. He listed his old boat on Craiglist:

After less than 24 hours and much interest, he was able to sell the boat for slightly more than he paid for it 2 years ago.

Greg has now fallen in love and I am not even angry at him for cheating on me! Tuesday night, he pulled into the driveway with this baby:

It is much roomier and more suited to my sunbathing and reading a book while he fishes. Unfortunately, Greg is now having to make some adjustments to the gate into the backyard and the concrete slab because the new boat is quite a bit wider (and heavier) than the old one. I know that he is in love because he has not complained one single time about the work involved in moving the fence and pouring concrete.

We had planned the maiden voyage for this Sunday. He wanted to finish the work on the fence and install the trolling motor on Saturday. Fate is messing with him because we were able to score VIP tickets to TPC at Sawgrass on Sunday. You can't really turn these down, so the voyage will be put off for another week. Now that he HAS complained about!

18 Weeks (a little late)

I have now reached the 18 week mark. Things still seem to be changing slowly. I am definitely more round than before I became pregnant, but it is happening very gradually. I am still wearing my regular pants - only I have to unbutton them when I am sitting for extended periods. It's a little embracing when I forget to button up when I stand up! I have used the Bella Band twice now and quite like it. It has gotten more difficult to bend over - I can't imagine what it will be like in a few months. I hope someone invents spray-on lotion soon because my legs seem more difficult to reach everyday.

Saturday gave me my fist scare. I woke up having a pulling/twitching sensation in my stomach/abdominal area. I tried not to be too concerned at first, but it continued to happen fairly often all morning. By about 10:00, I was worried. I had a suspicion that it was Braxton Hicks contractions, but I thought 18 weeks was a little early to have these. After some nervous waiting, I was reassured by those with more experience that it was, in fact, Braxton Hicks. My mom said that she started getting them early and often. I feel better now and I have not had any since Saturday.

In other news, little Bilbo is kicking much harder now (soccer player?). I can feel little jabs every now and then when I am sitting. The location seems to change fairly often, so I guess he/she is doing some flips also. Based on my width, I am guessing that the baby is laying sideways. I seem to be growing side to side rather than front to back. Awesome!

The ultrasound is now less than a week away. We are both very excited. They are going to give us a dvd of the whole thing, so be prepared. We will probably make EVERYONE we know watch it! We have ramped up the name discussion a little, but are still no where near a decision. I want to wait and see what the little bugger looks like!3

Anniversary

Today we are celebrating our second anniversary. My day started with a treasure hunt of sorts that Greg set up after I went to sleep last night. He placed roses at various locations around the house with notes attached that, when put together, read:
"I love you like the stars above, I'll love you 'till I die"

This is the saying that is inscribed on the inside of his wedding ring (it's from the Romeo and Juliet song for those who don't know).

As if the treasure hunt were not enough, when I got to work this morning, I found this:

What a sweetheart!!!

To top all of this off, Greg is making his Sweedish Meatballs for dinner. This is my favorite meal that he makes. We try to save it for special occasions (my birthday) because it involves quite a bit of cream.

Now everyone can be jealous of what a fabulous husband I have!! I love you Greg! Thank you for making my day and my life super special!!

17 Weeks

I heard back from the doctor's office the other day that the quad screening came back negative. This is a huge relief as false positives are relatively common, but false negatives are extremely rare. As far as I know, there will not be anymore tests for birth defects unless the ultrasound shows anything abnormal.

I felt the baby kick last night for the first time. It was right after Greg and I had to go chasing Mable when she decided to go exploring beyond our yard. I laid down on the bed, still breathing a little heavy, and could feel all kinds of movement inside. Greg immediately tried to feel around on the outside of my belly, but could not find any thumps. Hopefully he can feel something soon because I feel a little guilty that I am the only one feeling anything right now.

In an effort to get my expanding rear end under control, I have taken up lunging again. I have added in some leg lifts and squats also. Greg and I have gotten into a habit of walking around our neighborhood every evening for about 30 minutes. We both really enjoy these walks. Unfortunately, Greg's hands swell up a little because he refuses to walk with his elbow bent. He feels that it is weird looking (read girlie looking). I, personally, do not care what other people think - I don't like swollen hands!

Greg took a personal day today and went back to Yankeetown for some more fishing. The man LOVES to fish! Here is a photo of the redfish that he caught and is currently at home filleting for dinner:

16 Weeks

I have reached the 4 month mark. Since pregnancy technically lasts around 40 weeks, the whole 9 months thing is a myth (probably conceived by a man). So, after one more month I will reach the halfway point.

I am feeling pretty good these days, other than a stuffy nose/cold thing that will not go away. I am getting bigger every day. At this point, most of my regular clothes are getting too tight to wear without looking a little trashy. Dresses are wonderful!

I went on Friday to get my Quad screening done. It involved a lab tech drawing a vial of blood. I forget everything that it tests for, but I know that downs syndrome is one of them. Most women choose not to get this test done. In fact, I have not talked to a single person who actually had it done. I am not going to go into the pros vs. cons thing here because I know that this can be a touchy subject. I did some research and talked to a few people. In the end, Greg and I decided that we wanted to have it done. We should get the results some time this week.

We received this wonderful Easter package from Kathy this past week:

It included some first aid/baby hygiene products and little toys. So cute! Thanks again, Kathy!!

This is totally not baby-related, but it is beaches and boats-related: I want to brag about my awesome husband. He got an in-shore grand slam this weekend by catching a redfish (he actually caught 3), a snook, and a trout all in one day. We went out of Yankeetown (north of Crystal River) on Saturday and spent the day drifting. Below is a photo of the giant redfish that he caught. It was about 29 inches long and put up a good fight! Unfortunately, it was too big to keep (the limit is 27 inches). I am very proud of him!

May 11th

The big date is set. We go in at 11:00 AM for our ultrasound on May 11th. They will look at the bits and pieces and tell us if they think boy or girl (they also check to make sure that all of the organs look good and take measurements of the baby's size). Hopefully our little one will cooperate with us and spread wide. Greg has stated that if the baby is his and a boy, it should be no problem because he will have a huge penis (the baby is definitely his).

We had a good appointment today. I am measuring at about 16 weeks. We heard the heartbeat again and it measured at a healthy 155 beats per minute. We even heard what the doctor described as little kicks. It was very cute! Apparently I have been taking the whole eating for two thing seriously because I was up a whole 7 pounds from last month (I had not gained any weight as of last month). I am going to try and cut back on the cookies and ice cream.

We had a great and overwhelming trip to Babies R Us in Orlando this weekend. I had no idea that there was so much baby stuff out there. I walked around the store in a daze because it was overload for me. I am naturally an indecisive person, so this is going to be very difficult for me. There are about 10 different brands of bottles alone to choose from. And then you have to choose which type of bottle within each brand!

We were able to pick out some cribs that we like. The prices at BRU were so much better than the two stores that sell cribs in Gainesville and they deliver! We are planning to go with a convertible crib that can also function as a toddler bed and full size bed as the baby gets older.

This is the crib we picked out for a girl:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3012845

If it is a boy, we like this one:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3012755

We actually like the white crib ALOT better than the darker one. But we don't think that a boy would like having white furniture as he gets older, so we picked out two.

A big huge thank you to Mark and Karen (Greg's parents) for generously giving us the money to purchase the crib and a dresser.

14-15 Weeks

I have been terrible about posting anything lately. To be honest, there has not been much to report. I am having technical difficulties and have not figured out how to add the 14 week picture (above) to the belly pics page. I think that my stomach is definite poking out now. It shows up better in a picture Greg took last Friday:

All of my clothes still fit, but are tight. I can't keep one pair of my jeans buttoned all day while I sit at my desk.

I have another doctor's appointment on Monday. It should be pretty routine: blood pressure, weight, etc. The exciting part will be when I schedule my next appointment which will be for the ultrasound. We will find out if Bilbo is a he or a she (hopefully!).We are supposed to get a 3D ultrasound that includes a DVD.

I learned in New Mexico that physical activity is more difficult than it used to be. Just going up the stairs would get me out of breathe. I am sure that the dry air and change in elevation had something to do with it also.

The second trimester has given me a little more energy. I am trying to walk several times a week and I can stay awake past 9:30 (but don't try calling after 8 or 8:30 because I am not likely to answer).

Greg and I are headed to Orlando on Saturday. We plan to start looking at baby related stuff (car seats, strollers, cribs, etc.). If anyone has any advice on any of these, let me know. We are planning to hit the Babies 'R Us because Gainesville does not have one. I will try to post links to some of the crib bedding that I like tomorrow. I am not going to make any decisions on it until we find out if it is a boy or girl.

Wish Greg luck - he is going baby shopping with his mom and myself!!!