Memorial Day

Well, we had a fun 3-day weekend!

Friday evening Rob put the finishing touches on the swingset that Avery's grandparents went in on for her birthday.  It arrived last Tuesday and he spent every evening and into the  night each night working on it.  My mom stopped by after work and we hung around waiting for for Rob to put the final bolts in (which he had to run to Home Depot for missing bolts at the last minute).  Excuse the very shoddy camera work.  She was pretty excited.  She loved it and spent a LOT of time outside playing on it this weekend.

Saturday we went to the lake for the day.

Gigi and Pepaw got Avery a fishing pole.  She practiced casting and reeling with only a plastic fish on the end of the line.  Good thing because had there been a hook many people would have been snared.  She definitely got the casting thing down, though.  She was a pro by the end of the evening.

Sunday we just spent time around the house and did some grocery shopping.  Avery wanted to eat her cereal outside on her swingset.

Sunday night Rob made a delicious dinner of sliders, grilled potato wedges, and grilled corn.  I did nothing to help.  Oh! For dessert I threw together some strawberry shortcake (i.e. I washed and sliced some berries, placed them on a store-bought cake, and topped with store-bought whipped cream).

Monday morning Rob made breakfast and I got ready to take Avery to see The Lorax (yay for the $1 movie!).  We stopped at Quick Trip where we each picked out a treat for the movie (sorry, I'm not paying $4 for one package of candy at the theatre).  Popcorn, however, must be purchased at the theatre.  It's a necessity.

We spent the rest of the day playing outside in the slip and slide and on the swingset.  And while we LOVE our new house, I miss our old neighborhood pool.

Again, Rob (are you seeing a pattern here?) made an awesome dinner of fajitas.  Avery chose a popsicle for dessert, but still hit me up for bites of my ice cream.  Also, suddenly she is a pro at riding the tricycle.  She has been able to pedal for a long time but didn't quite have the steering thing down.  Now she can turn and has good control over exactly where she wants to go-all while ringing the bell.

The weekend was mostly fun but we did make some progress in Avery's room.  We ordered the dresser that matched her bed and it came in on Friday.  Rob put it together while we were at the movie.  I'm still not sure I'm in love with the way things are arranged in her room but I guess for now it will do.  I re-covered the wall letters that spell her name to match her new bedding.  We still need to  hang those as well as a few other things.  I also thing I'm going to try to get Rob to build a book ledge for one wall in her room.

Not to sound greedy, but I definitely could have used another day!  Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend as well.

33 Weeks

33 Weeks

Other comparisons:
Durian fruit (?)
Cantaloupe

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening.
The baby is steadily putting on weight, and we bet those punches and kicks are probably feeling less cute than they used to. Additionally, his/her adrenal glands have started working (producing adrenaline, a chemical you might tap into during labor) and the baby is now receiving your antibodies to protect and develop his/her immune system. In fact, if you breastfeed, the antibodies will continue to be passed on until the baby is six months old.

I had an appointment this morning.  My doctor heard a little "blip" in the baby's heartbeat when she was listening on the doppler.  She said that could be caused by low fluid levels or a little kink in the cord or baby squeezing the cord.  She wanted to check my fluid levels via ultrasound and they were normal so she said everything was fine (baby was "playing" with the cord or it got a temporary kink).  I think I gained about 1.5 pounds in the last 2 weeks.

I'm tired, but otherwise doing fine!

Conversations with Avery

We drive by a pasture with cows, one horse, and one donkey every day.  Named by Avery, the cows (all of them) are Connie and the donkey is Dexter.

Me: what was the horse's name again? Hank?

Avery: No, Homer! Hank...what a silly name, Mommy.

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Driving by a bank:

Avery: is that a hospital?

Me: no, it's a bank.

Avery: what's a bank?

Me: well, it's a place that keeps your money for you.

Avery: like a piggy bank?

Me: yeah, kind of.

Avery: is it BREAKABLE?

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Avery: I love you, Mommy.

Me: I love you more.

Avery: I love you two fifty five dollars.

Me: well, that is quite a bit.

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32 Weeks

4 oranges

Last week was four apples.  Is an orange really bigger than an apple?

Other comparisons:
Pineapple
Squash

This week your baby is weighing in at around 4 pounds – which means there are only a few more pounds to go! (Yes, it is possible for your belly to get bigger, believe it or not.) Your baby’s lungs are continuing to mature, producing increasing amounts of surfactant, a fatty liquid that lines the inside of the lungs and helps the sacs within expand efficiently for breathing. Your baby is also practicing sucking and swallowing (which fully coordinates between 32 and 34 weeks), but he/she would still need to be fed with a tube if born this week because suckling might not be efficient.

One thing I forgot to mention last week in the post regarding pregnancy differences: my bellybutton!  It's kind of sticking out.  Never did with Avery.  I have to take pictures in Avery's bathroom since I can't get close to the mirror in ours.

We made some progress in the baby room last night.  We got all the furniture in place.  All of the baby gear stopped in the garage when we moved (had previously been in storage or in the attic) so we moved all of that in and somewhat put it away.  I washed the covers for the swing, bouncer, jumperoo, Boppy, play mat, etc.  I pulled out all the (approximately) 0-6 months toys and books.  It's nowhere near complete but at least we got a little start.

Oh, and that sheet I posted last Friday?  The one from Target.  It's out of stock now!  Of course it is!  Buy Buy Baby has a solid yellow, so that will do.

I'm looking forward to getting everything put together over the next several weeks.

Weekend

Saturday we headed up to the lake for the day.  Avery was so, so excited to go to Gigi and Pepaw's boat.  The night before she tried on her mask and fins.  She was sure she was going to dive under the water.  We told her the water might be a little cold.

Co-captain

A captain gets thirsty

Cheese

Talking and driving

Being goofy

Enjoying some ice cream

We got home pretty late and thankfully Avery slept in a bit on Sunday.  Sunday we did stuff around the house.  Avery got into some colored bubbles my mom bought for her last year (ahem-thanks Mimi).   Once we saw what a mess they were we decided to let her play until they were GONE.

And that was the end of the colored bubbles.  For the most part, they did wash off the patio and came out of her clothes in the washer (again, for the most part).

Princess Crayola Color Bubbles

Bedding

I tell you what: making decisions for your unborn child is hard!  Don't even get me started on the name thing.  We may be spending extra nights in the hospital just because they won't let you leave without naming your child.  So I decided to focus on something that I could decide on: the bedding!   From the beginning I wanted grays and yellows, but questioned whether that color combination was too "girly," or rather, everything I found in those colors was kind of girly. Then I ran across something that I liked, and posted about that set here.  But ultimately, that plan just wasn't coming together.  I didn't want to spend that much money on the complete set.  And the more I looked at it, the more I noticed that brown was a prominent color.  Nothing against brown, I just want gray to be the prominent color.  Anyway!  Today I came across a sheet from Pottery Barn that I really liked!  Actually, several.  I've checked Pottery Barn a million times but sometime in the last month or two they went behind my back and got some adorable gray bedding in and subsequently sold enough that a lot of it is on backorder (including an adorable gray chevron print that is on backorder until July-ugh-maybe I will order it as a backup at that time).

But I digress.  I ordered this cute sheet pictured below.  I already have gray curtains and I've commissioned my mom to make a solid gray crib skirt (I'm not paying $60 for an a la carte crib skirt).



I would like to find a solid gray or yellow blanket.  I'd also like to get this sheet by Carter's as a backup sheet.

And there you have it!  Progress.

Pregnancy Differences

I mentioned before how this pregnancy differs in certain ways than my pregnancy with Avery.  Obviously, Avery is a girl and this baby is a boy (or so they say).  I'm not one to put too much stock in the old wives tales, especially regarding gender, but some of them have turned out to be true for me.

Baby's heart rate-This baby's heart rate has been lower (140s) and Avery's was always higher, keeping in line with the wives tale.

Carrying high vs. low-I carried Avery very high and I'm carrying this one very low.  So, again, this one is true for me too.

Craving sweet (girl) or salty (boy)-Eh.  I definitely ate a lot of candy and frozen yogurt when I was pregnant with Avery.  I haven't eaten as much candy this time.  I don't know.  I can't say that I really have cravings per se, more so that I give in to eating what I want more than I do when I'm not pregnant.  Neither pregnancy have I wanted to eat something that I wouldn't like when I'm not pregnant.

Morning sickness-The wives tale says you will have more more sickness if you're having a girl.  I really didn't have much morning sickness with Avery, only if I didn't eat soon enough in the morning.  This time I really didn't have any.  Again, this one seems to be true.

I've had some other differences than last time as well.  I had bad heartburn last time and I haven't really had any this time.  I did experience some heartburn once or twice during the time we were packing and moving from all the bending over.  Other than that I haven't had anything like I did with Avery (I carried Tums with me at all times).  I'm attributing this to carrying Avery so high.

Last time I had a linea nigra (the dark, vertical line on your stomach) and this time-so far-I do not.  I guess it could appear in the next 8 weeks.

No stretch marks with Avery and none so far with this one.  Again, some could appear in the remaining 8 weeks.

With Avery I remember having that gross, metallic taste in my mouth and I haven't had that this time.

By far the worst part of either pregnancy has been sciatica.  With Avery, it started at about 30 weeks and stayed consistent and painful for several weeks.  This time, it has flared up here and there, but it hasn't stuck around for long periods of time.  Hopefully it stays that way.  It's really painful and since I can't really avoid walking, I hope it doesn't come back over the next couple months.

Some people attribute these differences to the sex of the baby; others with multiple of the same sex say each of their pregnancies were different.  This is my experience, and since I'll probably not have any more, I won't be able to test the theory any further!

Avery's 3 Year Checkup

This morning before my appointment (same building).

On the way there, Avery expressed concern over why she was going to the doctor because "nothing hurts."  She then went on to list all the things on her body that didn't hurt, ending with "nothing at all!"  

I explained that sometimes we go to the doctor when we're not sick.  

She was pretty excited to be there.

She even danced.

Goof.  

Anyway.  She is still a little peanut.  

35.8 inches tall (21st percentile)

27.6 pounds (17th percentile)

She also had an ear infection.  I wasn't really surprised since she's had a runny nose and pretty much any time she gets a runny nose she gets an (asymptomatic) ear infection.  

No shots until 4 years, which disappointed her (awwww, I want a shot!).

Other than that, she's doing great!

31 Weeks

4 apples

Other comparisons:
Pineapple
Large Jicama

Weighing in at three-plus pounds and measuring 18 inches long, your baby is quickly approaching his birth length — though he's got to pack on another three to five pounds before D-day. Also developing at an impressive clip: your baby's brain connections (he's got to make trillions of them!). He's now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses. He's also putting in longer stretches of sleep, which is why you're probably noticing more defined patterns of wakefulness (and movement) and rest (when he’s pretty still).

Sometime between last week and this morning, I got it into my head that I was going to be 32 weeks today.  When I went to change the chalk board from last week and it said 30 weeks, I was seriously confused.  Surely I didn't skip a picture?  No.  Just getting a little ahead of myself.

I went to the doctor this morning.  No news.  I gained about 1.5 pounds in the last two weeks.  His heartbeat was in the 140s.  I go back in two weeks.

I am still sleeping pretty good.  My feet and back hurt if I'm walking/standing for more than an hour or so.  Good thing I'm able to sit most of the day at work.  I like to walk (and by walk I mean shop) on my lunch breaks so I get some activity, and that doesn't bother me.  But if I'm doing stuff around the house all evening my back starts to kill me.
So far I haven't had any major swelling.  My rings are still a bit tight and I'm taking them off at night, but I can still see my ankle bones.  Give me a few weeks, I'm sure...

Mother's Day Weekend

We're slowly settling into our house.  Our fence was finished on Friday, so Rob and Avery picked up Arthur from Gigi and Pepaw's.  They had kindly been keeping him during the move and until we had our fence put up.  We were wondering how Arthur would react to his new neighbors (the horses).  As predicted, he barked.  And barked.  And barked.  The horses just stared at him, clearly not intimidated by such an inferior being.

Saturday we worked around the house a little bit.  Rob hung the blinds that we had to order for the office, dining, and living rooms.  I shopped in the afternoon and found a few things for the house.

Later that afternoon we took Avery over to the local carnival so she could ride the carousel.  We all shared a GIANT corn dog.

Avery wanted to ride the huge slide (and she did and she liked it).

She also insisted on riding a really fast ride and she didn't like it.  We then moved on to safer things, such as the carousel.
 

Much more her pace.

Sunday I woke up to the smell of cinnamon rolls and Avery said "I made you someping!"

A beautiful card on which she wrote "mom" all by herself.  I also received a beautiful watch and pretty pink roses.

Avery and I headed out for brunch and manicures with Mimi while Rob stayed home and assembled Avery's new bed (a surprise for her when we got home later).

Avery was allowed to pick her own polish color (purple) and have her nails painted too.

She was so excited.

Avery and I went home to pick up Rob and head to Gigi and Pepaw's.  She sort of fell asleep on the way.

I thought I was supposed to be the one relaxing?

Avery had the surprise of her new bed waiting on her at home.  She was pretty excited about it.

It took her a bit to quiet down and fall asleep but she did great.  Now the crib moves to the baby room, and she feels pretty good about giving her baby brother her old bed.

Here's a little video of her checking out her bed.  My camera was out of focus for the first bit, I guess because I went from dark to light and it didn't automatically adjust.
Also, we didn't have the pillows on it yet so she was trying to sleep on the decorative throw pillow. Ha.  Now I need to find some curtains to match and we need to get a dresser for her room, and she will be set.