too cute to pass up

I've been doing my best to not go overboard and start buying our daughter a boat load of clothes. Of course my mom, brother, and great friend have already stocked her closet, but I myself hadn't bought anything until last week.

I was parked in mall parking while I did some work downtown and decided to peruse the mall a bit before heading home. I decided to look at babygap as they were advertising a big sale. I was just on my way out, empty handed when I saw this...

For any new readers, my husband and I have an English Bulldog whom we adore. I'd seen a few boy bulldog outfits, but none for girls! I didn't even look at the price before I went to the register. I just had to have it! Bulldogs with pink bows?! I was so excited. Turns out it was 40% off. Score!

A room for our little girl!

I had been thinking about the nursery for a while. I knew that for both boy or girl I wanted a white Jenny Lind crib. I also knew that either way, I wanted to focus more on colors and patterns rather than a distinct "theme".

This was one of the first nursery photos I saved. Love the cribs and the pops of color! image via Nina's Blog

Once we knew we were having a girl, I started to really think about colors and such. I think most of my friends and family would have predicted I do a somewhat shabby chic, or more elegant, neutral pink room with flowers and such. But for some reason, I just don't want to do my usual thing. I want this room to be fun. I want it to look clean and fresh, just like a baby.

It all started with a Maytag commercial. I fell in LOVE with these polka dot sheets about 2 weeks before we knew it was a girl. I loved the colors and especially loved the polka dots. So cute without being too frilly.

Then, my brother gifted us this onesie. And I again fell in love with this color combo. In one moment I pictured exactly what I wanted.

Very light, aqua walls, all white furniture and pops of color in the bedding and art on the wall. And, I wanted polka dots! It's been a little difficult to find bedding in this color scheme. Most "girl" bedding is more pastel or has some sort of butterfly or flower. But, I'm excited to do something a little out of my normal style.

I've made some purchases already...but I'll have to save those for another post!

I heart Snoogle!

I had trouble sleeping very early on. Both my mom and B's cousin had me utterly paranoid about sleeping on my tummy while pregnant. At about 12 weeks, it became physically uncomfortable to sleep on my stomach, so I was trying with all my might to sleep on my side. It was not working out very well. Every morning I would wake up flat on my tumtum.

I decided I needed a solution. The reviews led me to the "Snoogle". Since I"m 5'9, I was happy to hear it was long enough for me. I'd been trying to sleep with an arsenal of pillows lodged between my knees, my ankles, and under my belly. It was not working. At all.

So I "splurged" on a snoogle via amazon. It was much more pricey than I had anticipated, but I wanted a washable cover, so I went for it. I like that it can be used on both sides and basically prevents me from inadvertently rolling over onto my tummy while sleeping.

It is so worth it. Oh yea. Good purchase. AND! I just saw that it is easily used for nursing in bed, so that is a plus. I have to admit, I think I will continue to use it for a while!

20 Weeks

This Monday I hit the 20 week mark. The half-way mark. Wow. Time is going by really, really fast. I'm feeling our little girl move a lot. I also feel like my belly has really grown in the last 2 weeks.

Monday I went in for my "Anatomy scan". It was a half an hour ultra sound where the tech took "pictures" of almost every inch of our baby's anatomy. She was really nice, but definitely focused on the task at hand. She measured, looked at the heart, other organs and limbs and also confirmed that our baby is indeed a girl.

Today, I met with my OB to go over the ultrasound and have my 20 week appointment. I had been a nervous wreck all day. This morning I received the "results" of my ultrasound via email. There was a note at the beginning stating that the "cephalic index is slightly elevated at 88. Recommend follow up". My heart sank. I had no idea what cephalic meant. So. I googled it. It's a measurement of the head in relation to gestational age. It can be an indicator of chromosomal abnormalities. I immediately started freaking out that something was wrong with my baby girl. This was at about 1130am. My appointment wasn't until 4pm.

I decided not to alert B or my mom, or anyone other than the poor co-worker I was having lunch with at noon. I didn't want to cause a huge freak out over something I wasn't sure of.

Once I got to the appointment my nerves had really gotten to me. My smiling, bubbly OB walked in and I was basically really snappy and immediately asked what the hell was up with my baby's results! She looked over the results and said she was not the least bit concerned. She said since all the other results were "normal" she is just guessing baby has a big head. She jokingly asked if my family has big heads. Since my hubby's head is seriously huge, I had to laugh and tell her we do have some big noggins. Still, I pressed her for more details and she finally told me, "If there were something to worry about, believe me I would tell you." That finally made me feel better.

We listened to baby girl's strong heartbeat and that was it!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 20 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the length of a banana

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Lost 9lbs

Maternity Clothes: I love my maternity pants. Still in normal tops

Gender: It's a GIRL!

Movement: I feel her move everyday. Sometimes more than others. Little kicks and flutters

Sleep: Sleeping better now that I have a Snoogle

What I miss: sleeping on my tummy

Cravings: sub sandwiches, hot wings

Symptoms: feeling really good, just more tired than usual

Best Moment this week: Making my first outfit purchase for baby girl!

Jenny Lind Crib!

Now, I'm slightly obessing over the crib. I've known all along I wanted white, but I kept seeing this crib I could only describe as "old fashioned" and very simple, but I absolutely loved it and no other crib could compare. I finally googled "old fahioned white crib" and lo' and behold, this crib style has a known name, "jenny lind". Love, love, love. I will definitely have a jenny lind style crib. I think it will offset the more modern color scheme we have planned for her room. The best news is that this crib is widely available in many different price ranges.

Now that I'm fixated on it, I see it everywhere!

image via: projectnursery.com

We are having a baby girl!

We found out on my birthday while my family was in town! Her closet is almost full...

On Not Drinking Alcohol

So...I've never considered myself a big drinker. College was college, but once I left, I definitely did not drink as much. B very rarely drinks at all, but I enjoy a cocktail, some wine and a large margarita here and there. Or so I thought.

As soon as I was preggers, I was so shocked at how weird it was not to be able to drink.

B's best friend and his wife live a few houses away from us and we started "wine fridays" a while back, where we would actually consume a ton of wine at eachother's houses and we'd get to walk home afterwards which was super fun. We didn't do it every Friday, but I have to admit, the first Friday that rolled around after our positive pregnancy test seemed empty without our get together.

Sangria at a bbq, beer at a baseball game, wine at a dinner out, margarita over tortilla chips...they all came my way within the first week of being preggers. Because I'm apparently an alcoholic, I had to tell a few friends right away as they would have definitely known once I turned down a glass of sangria! Wow, do I really never turn down a drink?!

The best part of all this is realizing now that I totally do not miss it. It was hard at first, but as long as I'm still part of the party--I really don't care if I have a drink. I love my friends and have such a great time, even without a cocktail in hand.

I've heard a glass of wine is ok later in pregnancy, but at this point I don't plan on indulging. I may change my tune towards the end, but for now, I'm impressed with the ease in transition from casual boozer to teatotaling mama!

Shopping at Motherhood

I just had one of the best shopping experiences of my life. B took me on a date day/night today. We woke up early, went out to breakfast and decided to spend the day having some fun,window shopping and enjoying some time somewhere new. We went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, a favorite that I don't get nearly enough and then made our way to the mall across the street where I knew there were a couple maternity stores.

I'm not showing at all yet, but I know it will happen eventually and I want some things around just in case! I heard that Motherhood carried plus size, so I stopped there first. I had a mental list: jeans, cropped jeans, cropped black pants, work slacks and maybe a dress.

I was in luck! They had everything in my size, and had a buy one, get one 50% off on all bottoms! I could not believe how cute everything was. They literally had everything I came in for. Everything fit and I just loved the way it all looked. I even tried on the little "bump" belt they had in the fitting room to make sure everything would still look ok with a larger baby bump. So fun!

Happy shopper! My only complaint was the hot lights in the dressing rooms. Whew--I was one sweaty mama to be!

Even with the sale, I spent quite a bit more than I had planned, but as far as pants go...I am set! I was so stoked. B was happy to see me so happy. I had tried pants on at target, old navy and even ross and nothing had been fitting me at all, so I did not have high hopes for Motherhood. Wow, I just couldn't have been more pleased!

And hello, why can't I wear these maternity jeans all the time? SO comfortable. Love!!

The sales girl was so sweet too. She was so curious to see how far I am since I have no bump... she was definitely surprised I was 18 weeks. But she said, as others have, that the bump will probably show up all of a sudden....now I'm prepared!

16 Weeks!

My 16 week appointment was rather uneventful. Since I'd had an ultrasound at every prior appointment, I was full expecting to see our growing baby that afternoon. Instead, it was just a quick check-in and a listen to baby's heartbeat. I was a tad disappointed, as I had been hoping for an early gender reveal. No such luck. The nurse practitioner informed me that she has a horrible success rate with early gender predictions, so she wasn't going to roll in the machine to appease me.

I tried not to leave too disappointed. The heartbeat was found instantly and came in at a steady 156. After the appointment I scheduled the anatomy scan which will include the gender reveal for July 18th. I do not know if we can wait that long!

I have been feeling the baby move more and more. Just flutters, but they are becoming more noticeable and consistent! Last weekend B did the grocery shopping for me. I sent him with a few requests and coupons. There was a great deal on hummus, so I sent him with the coupon. After he delivered the goods, he told me it had taken him quite a while to locate the hummus at the store (B isn't really a hummus guy). A few days later I was indulging in carrot sticks and hummus when I felt the baby move for the first time. I texted B at work, "Baby either loves or hates hummus, but either way I just felt it move!!"

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 16 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of an avacado

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Lost 8lbs

Maternity Clothes: I'm wearing my normal clothes!

Gender: Can't wait to find out!

Movement: Felt some flutters last week and have feeling them more consistently!

Sleep: Lot's of tossing and turning!

What I miss: sleeping on my tummy, coffee (I've given up all caffeine)

Cravings: Mexican food (especially refried beans), deli sandwiches

Symptons: feeling really good, just more tired than usual

Best Moment this week: feeling baby move!