Week 16 Bumpdate

For some reason Week 16 was one I was looking forward to for a while now. Maybe it's the beginning of when you may feel movement, or it means you're already 4 months down and 5 to go or for most this is when clothing becomes tight around the bump - and crazy as I am - I was looking forward to that moment. I'm not sure but here we are week 16 almost done. Crazy.

At the beginning of this week the Husband and I went with my parents and Nephew to the nearby National Park for some hiking. Such beautiful landscape around us that I've never seen before and lived in Ohio most all my life. However in pregnancy you gain 50% more blood in your system and for me I thought "Ok yeah that's no big deal. I was in shape before pregnancy I'll be fine". This lie came to face me full on when I was hiking back up the hill to get to the car. I was breathing like I had just run 3 miles, in the heat, no breaks, no conditioning. It was rough. My poor heart. My poor baby's heart. But I checked my heart rate and I was under (not by much) the 140 beats. Still, That 50% more blood in your system is no joke.

I was also doing a prenatal workout video with an Instructor whom I've followed for a while now who was also pregnant during the video. We were (almost) gasping for breath and the workout wasn't even that hard. Don't you just love it when the leader of the video goes "man that was hard" or "wow I'm really out of breath" during your workout? It made me feel like we were equal because she was struggling as much as I was. I took so many breaks during that 30 minute workout. No shame.

Ok, enough with my "I work out while pregnant" stories. Here is the information you really came here for.

Hey look my skinny jeans still fit! They don't button but they fit!

How far along: 16 weeks

Gender: Baby                

Weight gain: 5lbs

Maternity clothes: Nope

Sleep: The 2am "call of the bladder" is back. Also I'm using a throw pillow to help me sleep at night. Between my legs, under my arm. Anywhere that is comfortable it goes. 

Best moment this week: This is more for last week but I'll talk about it now - movement! Baby A gave me a "hey I'm in here" one-milisecond feel of s/he moving. It was awesome. 

Worst moment this week: My jeans don't button. I knew this was coming and before this week I could squeeze into jeans but added the hair tie for extra comfort. Now it's all hair tie. All the time. Well if that's not considered the "worse" thing because it is a part of pregnancy I would say the constipation is terrible. 

Miss anything: Sleeping on my stomach it's going to be a long 5 more months.......welp

Movement: One milisecond but nothing since

Cravings: Fry pies which I indulged in today. I've been craving them for weeks now and broke down and bough two - one for the husband of course. 

Queasy or sick: no

Anything making you queasy or sick: no

Looking forward to: More movement!

Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on


I've also been spending my spare time doing research for baby items like cribs, car seats, baby monitors etc. These two books I picked up at the library helped me a bit. I also made two lists "Baby must haves" and "Baby nice to haves" and the must have list is not as long as I thought it would be. Thereby confirming my original thought that Baby's don't need that much stuff.

And..because it's Friday and this quote fits me so much this week. 

Two bumpdates in one!

I was without my computer for a few days which is why week 14 is a week late and week 15 is just now being blogged about. Apologies to the masses. The masses who do not read my blog. Or who do and I'll never know.


15 Week Bumpdate

A baseball, an avacado, a fist, a lemon, an orange, a donut....I look at any of the apps or lists on my phone and these all are supposed to reflect the size of my baby this week. So since no one knows the exact size of baby Anderson I'm choosing to say it is the size of a donut. Because donuts are delicious and have all the right in the world so say my baby is that big.

I have always been in love with stripes on a pregnant woman. 

How far along:  15 weeks

Gender: 4 weeks until we find out!

Weight gain: 3lbs

Maternity clothes: Nope

Sleep: Recently I've been sleeping so well. Even skipping my 2am bladder emptying the past 2 nights which is thrilling for me. 

Best moment this week: Attending a family reunion proudly bumping it out!

Worst moment this week: Seeing a co-worker eating a turkey, cheese, pickle sandwich and trying not to drool. I'd kill for that sandwich right now. 

Miss anything: Said sandwich. And stomach sleeping

Movement: none

Cravings: Milk. I drank 3 glasses in one day. Baby Anderson's bones must be growing!!

Queasy or sick: Neither

Anything making you queasy or sick: No

Looking forward to: Movement!

Belly Button in or out?  in
Wedding rings on or off?on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy for the most part

*but wait, there's more!*

14 Week Bumpdate

Oh week 14, you have come and gone already. Wow. This picture was taken on date night and we were heading to Red Lobster so I could eat my fish quota for the week. I previously knew that maxi dresses are fashion's gift to women but I bought this one that day and didn't want to take it off. It shows my bump but doesn't cling. It's amazing. 

Also, mood swings got the best of me this night. Dinner was miserable as I was almost keeled over in pain from gas all throughout my mid-section. Even after using the restroom twice nothing was resolved. I just wanted to leave and go home. So after we leave the restaurant I started feeling a tad better (murphy's law right?) and we get the car, I close the door and bawl. I just loose it right there. Leftovers and purse on my lap. Hand still on the door handle. Bawling. You may think I was crying because of the pain but by now it had subsided. I was just crying because hormones made me incredibly sad. My poor sweet husband asked me what was wrong and when I answered "Nothing" he simply put the car in drive to take us home. He didn't console me or try and decypher my problem. He was perfect. He let me cry it out and when the worst was over he held my hand. This is all I want sometimes and he read my mood perfectly. 

How far along:  14 weeks

Gender: Still a baby I think               

Weight gain: 2lbs

Maternity clothes: no

Sleep: Good besides the 2am call of the bladder

Best moment this week: Attending my first "Pregnancy Centering" group. Basically a support group for moms. They had snacks. That was one of the main reasons I went. Not ashamed.

Worst moment this week: Finding out in said Centering group that I had no symptoms the other women had. I felt like "Wait am I even pregnant? My midwife would tell me if I wasn't right?"

Miss anything: Same as every other week

Movement: none

Cravings: Golden grahams cereal. 

Queasy or sick: no

Anything making you queasy or sick: No

Looking forward to: Finding out the gender!

Belly Button in or out?  in
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. Besides my random bawling sessions. 

So there you have it. Two weeks in one. Booyah Batman. 

Week 13 Bumpdate

This week has truly flown! I feel like I cannot get a grip on life and I have to hang on by my fingertips and let my legs dangle behind me. You know the feeling. Week 13 was good to me. I spent hours watching Youtube videos titled "Baby items I regret buying" and I wasn't expecting the consensus that I received. From the 12-18 videos I watched I created a list of at least 18 items that mothers have found to be useless. And even though I don't have a child yet, I agree with every one of the items. My philosophy - if they didn't have it to use 30 years ago - why do I?

I set my mind in the beginning to be a mommy minimalist - to not be so weighed down and overwhelmed by all the baby items out there that people, society, other mothers tell you they loved or "I wish I had THAT when I had kids". Don't get me wrong, the baby companies have made huge strides in products that really do help. Come on... breast pumps? That was pretty genius. But an all-in-one baby food/spoon gadget? Not so genius in my opinion. I did flip to the other side of the coin and watched "Baby items I cannot live without" videos and after a handful of 12-15 minute long videos I found that 1. People love to rave about items or tell stories about their friend "Jill" who loved said item and 2. Babies don't need many things. Which I already kind of knew.

But I digress. Let's get to the Bumpdate for 13 weeks. Baby is the size of an Espresso Cup. How cool and amazing is that? I'm pretty determined to find things that reflect baby's size that are not food related.

Hair. Makeup. Clothing. A complete 180 from last weeks picture. #lazy

How far along: 13 weeks

Gender: baby

Weight gain: 2lbs

Maternity clothes: Nope

Sleep: Sleep was rough for a while. I found only 2 positions that I was comfortable in. But right now that has passed and I'm more comfortable and trying to enjoy these last precious weeks of stomach sleeping. 

Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat!!!! Also Telling my co-workers. Specifically one who has been telling me for the past 3 months that she cannot wait until I'm pregnant. You do the math. She called it just as it happened. Weird. 

Worst moment this week: I got my first dose of baby heartburn. Mild but still hurts. 

Miss anything: Raw cookie dough still and a nice cold deli meat sandwich. With crunchy lettuce, cheese, a slice of pickle, a little mayo. Oh good heavens yes. 

Movement: none but counting down the weeks until it arrives!

Cravings: Ice cold drinks

Queasy or sick: none. I think I'm passing that stage. Knock on wood. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. I was finally able to go grocery shopping by myself for the first time in 3 months without getting nauseous. Score. 

Looking forward to: Feeling flutters

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: I try to be happy most of the time. But I find my fuse is shorter these days. 

I mentioned that I told my coworkers about baby and I was met with 99% "Congratulations", "So excited for you" and so on and so forth. However I was also given a recommendation for a pediatrician and then told "Now you can start saving for College". Wonderful. The child isn't even born, let alone starting pre-school and I should be planning for College. This is how people get so sucked into life they miss all the important things. Well baby Anderson, let's just get you into this world and then we'll take things as they come. 

Also, here are some items I'm pretty set on getting for baby. The two carriers are up for discussion and a look at finances when the time comes but one or the other will be bought. Pay no attention to the gender-neutral (mostly boy looking) colors here. They are the most gender neutral I could fine. Except for the Ergo - Turquoise is my color yo. 

1. Ergobaby Original in Teal - this is the one I strive to have but there are equally good ones for half the price. Which let's be honest have a better chance ending of up in my cart. 

2. Baby K'Tan Wrap - it's a pre-wrapped baby wrap. How easy is that?

3. Aden Anais Muslin Blankets - muslin blankets are my jam!

4. Fisher-Price Rock and Play Sleeper - I don't necessarily need one that rocks, sings, vibrates, walks the dog etc but this is how most of them come. I will probably end up getting one I have to rock by hand. Oh the humanity!!

Until next week my friends...

Week 12 Bumpdate

This week was a somewhat milestone as we announced our pregnancy to the world aka made it "Facebook Official". We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many family and friends that are excited with us and looking forward to Baby Anderson's arrival with us! Everyone you hear talk about their pregnancies say it flies by with the exception of last few weeks I guess and I honestly didn't believe them. But now I'm 12 weeks in, Approximately 27 or 28 to go and it now seems like it's going by fast. Thinking about things in terms of weeks instead of days or months makes it seem like less time to go. Oh baby baby! 

Oh and yes, part of my bangs are pink. Booyah. I feel like a rock star. 

I spy a teeny tiny bump...!

How far along: 12 weeks

Gender: alien?

Weight gain: 2lbs

Maternity clothes: nope but the hair tie trick is my best friend sometimes.

Sleep: still sleeping well

Best moment this week: announcing it to the world!

Worst moment this week: the stuffy noise I've had for a few weeks now has officially worn out its welcome 

Miss anything: I've never had sushi before in my life but for some reason I have a hankering for it. weird

Movement: none

Cravings: sushi? But mostly I'm still craving raw cookie dough. And the taste of a margarita to be honest. I'm going to start binge eating margarita jelly beans to get my fix. 

Queasy or sick: feeling fab!

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope

Looking forward to: hearing baby Anderson's heartbeat with the husband

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On. I hope they stay on for my whole pregnancy but should my fingers become tiny sausages I have my Great Grandmother's ring that is 2 sizes to big and I plan to wear it during my labor. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy go lucky

Oh and I came across this shirt last week from Motherhood Maternity and fell in love. And it's on sale! I might just have to try and find it at the mall tomorrow. 

I also wanted to thank everyone who text, posted, or told me in person their congratulations and excitement. You make my heart so happy!

January Addition

No no, you did not  travel back in time to January. Nor did I spell "edition" wrong. There will be an addition to our family coming January 2016 - Baby Anderson is "coming round the mountain" as they say in Gilmore Girls. Well Baby has a few more months until that exact point but you get my drift.

Back in the beginning before I told the whole world we were expecting, I documented as much as I could of the first 11 weeks. I'll be trying to do a weekly Bumpdate on here that documents my progress and growing stomach. Here are just a few Bumpdates that I put together as well as some pictures.

I was obviously so excited I took the time to edit and fancy up this picture!

10 weeks - obviously not showing yet

This was - no joke - my life 2 weeks ago. I would alternate sweet and dill and was in total heaven!!

Now for the bumpdates

How far along: 6 weeks

Gender: unknown

Weight gain: 1.4 pounds

Maternity clothes: nope

Sleep: sleeping OK. Only waking up once or twice a night

Best moment this month: telling my mom about the baby! We laughed, we cried, we talked about the future

Worst moment this month: Not being able to tell all my close friends for another month

Miss anything: hot coffee. I have to drink it iced or room temperature.

Movement: none

Cravings: fried chicken and strawberries

Queasy or sick: yes for over a week now. It's pretty much not cool.

Looking forward to: my next midwife appt and maybe hearing the heartbeat.

How far along: 9 weeks

Gender: unknown but the family is making bets

Weight gain: according to my scale? 1lb. According to the Dr? 4lbs

Maternity clothes: I wish – all things stretchy sound so amazing right now!

Sleep: still waking up once or twice a night, aka how my nights will be for the rest of my life probably

Best moment this month: telling a close friend about our news over Mexican food which I shamelessly ate enough for two and then some.

Worst moment this month: not being able to hear the heartbeat at my 2^nd appt – it was too soon.

Miss anything: a good solid nights sleep

Movement: none

Cravings: Mexican is something I'm always craving. And caramel iced coffee from McDonalds. They are beginning to recognize me in the drive thru. It's sad really but I have no shame.

Indulgences: Donuts. I had 2 just because I could. And then I ate a bite (or 4) the next morning when the left over poor lonely donut was going to be thrown away. I tried to save it from its unfortunate fate. I tried.

Queasy or sick: I have my moments but for the most part I haven't felt queasy in weeks.

Looking forward to: Announcing it to the world!

Anything making you queasy or sick: the thought of touching – or heck even thawing – raw chicken turns my stomach so much.

Belly Button in or out? I have an innie outie. It's weird I know but I guess it is considered in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Depends on the day. I definitely go through moods!

I also watched “The Business of Being Born” last week as a recommendation from my sister-in-law. What an amazing video and full of information! As much as I would love to do a home birth I know my family would freak so the next best thing is having a midwife at the hospital.

Also this was my last week in the single digits – I'm a sentimental fool for stuff like that.

How far along: 11 weeks

Gender: unknown

Weight gain: 2lbs

Maternity clothes: nope

Sleep: up once a night to pee but still sleeping well.

Best moment this month: Is bloating a good thing? Because I've been bloated a lot and it's given me a real good glimpse at what a baby bump will look like. My husband however is still convinced I'm showing big time and that we are having twins.

Worst moment this month: none that come to mind

Miss anything: raw cookie dough. It's going to be a long 8 more months.

Movement: none

Cravings: popcorn. And for those that know me know that before pregnancy I was not a fan of popcorn so this is so weird for me. We went to the movies one night and I ate half the bag of popcorn by.myself. No shame

Queasy or sick: Queasy only after dinner usually

Anything making you queasy or sick: Oddly I get queasy after I eat dinner. After 5 minutes it subsides but it's pretty hard to look at the food you just ate and want to puke.

Looking forward to: hearing the heartbeat

Belly Button in or out? same
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy but I've been crying a lot lately and over nothing. It comes out of nowhere...just all of a sudden I'm sobbing.

So there you have it, my first blog as a pregnant woman. I hope you will join me on this exciting and yet crazy ride that is...pregnancy and parenthood. For those who are also wondering if I am still doing Yoga or any fitness regimen. You know me and my addiction of Yoga. And since now I am a pregnant Yogi - I'm considered (in the Yoga world) as a Yoga Goddess. Giver of life. I find that beautiful. I love Prenatal Yoga so much and I look forward to doing it all through my pregnancy.

Goddess Pose in Yoga

I am also not opposed to hand-me-downs. Clothing. Words of wisdom. Baby product do and do-withouts. If you got something to share - please do so!

7 degrees

It's currently 7 degrees. It hasn't risen out of the single digits in at least 24 hours. I'm beginning to feel like Laura Ingalls (Wilder) during "The Long Long Winter". But I am grateful that I do not have to live off of brown bread and potatoes or twist hay for heat. Although that did give a person character and strength when you were pushed to your edge to physically survive. Laura lived to be 90 years old! I would be lying if I said I wish I didn't live back then. I'm convinced that I am part 1880's child and 1950's housewife. I would have loved to live back then at a much simpler time!

    Train Stuck in snow 1881, Wikipedia                                   

So what is one to do on her day off when it's only 7 measly degrees outside? Grocery shopping. Kid you not that is what I did this morning because it was the only time this week I would have to go do it and boy was I glad to be back home! I have beef stew in my crock pot for dinner. This is only the second time I've made beef stew and I really hope it comes out better than my first. There are so many recipes out there for beef stew so I kind of took three of them and just winged it.

I started out with browning my beef before putting in the crock pot. This is something I learned from my mother (and some recipes DO say to do it - others do not) that it starts the cooking process so the beef can get good and tender while the potatoes and carrots cook. I then took the drippings from cooking the beef and made a flour gravy and added it to the crock pot of goodies. I am tempted to add some tomato sauce and paprika since some recipes call for it but others do not. I only want to add it because right now my stew is looking and smelling the same as my first time around - good but not great. Recipes say to let the stew cook and an hour short of it's finishing time to taste it and adjust seasonings etc then so that is what I shall do.

Yesterday the husband and I spent a few hours doing our own separate thing in the same room. He choose to research trucks and watch cartoons. I chose to make some more cards for my Etsy shop. I made 6 cards in 4 1/2/ hours. I never think it's going to take me that long to make cards but especially when my mind gets blocked I have a hard time making a specific card. And I'm not the creative type either. I know my cards show some sort of creativity but I mainly get inspiration from Pinterest and re-create the cards I find on there. But no matter how many I make and how blocked my mind gets I always come back and make more. Even if they aren't being bought like I hoped they would.

Speaking of the olden days I've finally confessed my favorite Judy Garland Movie. No not Wizard of Oz, that movie really scares me to be honest. Flying monkeys? *shudder*
My favorite Judy Garland movie is "Good Ole Summertime".

 

This movie along with "Shop Around the Corner" inspired the 1990s movie "You've Got Mail". I simply love finding out newer movies were inspired off of old ones. Like my other favorite movie "The Women" was a remake of the same movie from the 1930s. How amazing!

Well anyway I'm going to go fix myself something hot to drink so I can get warm again. Cheers!

Tuesday Lessons

I sit here with an aching back and an aching nose. My back is aching because I've been standing on concrete (aka my kitchen floor) for the last 2 hours making and cleaning up after dinner. My nose is aching to smell the brownies that are in the oven. Let me explain...

It all started last week when my husband and I went grocery shopping at Aldi. I am a firm believer in Aldi and love 1. How far my dollar goes there and 2. The large selection in each food group. Well I went with my list of things to buy and on it was pork shoulder so that I could make BBQ pulled pork sandwiches in my crock pot tonight. Well all my local Aldi had in terms of pork was pork chops. Now experience has taught me that when it comes to pulled pork sandwiches pork chops do not shred the same as pork shoulder. So I decided to pick something else and alter the menu for tonight. I landed on the Fit and Active Rotisserie Flavored Turkey Breast Tenderloins. After consulting with my husband and explaining that we were NOT having pulled pork (or pulled turkey) sandwiches and that we would just have this nicely flavored turkey breast with some mashed potatoes etc. He obliged.

So...tonight...the night of the turkey breast tenderloin disappointment. I was so excited to cook it because it was a super easy "put it in the oven and forget it for a whole hour!" type of meal. My kind of meal sometimes. So I cooked it with some baby carrots, made up some homemade mashed potatoes from Yukon gold potatoes (the best kind of potato in my opinion) and by 6 o' clock we were sitting down to eat. An sitting down to disappointment. The turkey was terrible. The flavoring was not rotisserie flavored it was more of a cajun/pepper-y flavor. I truly cannot even describe it accurately because I had about 5 bites before I was done.

I also learned tonight that when making gravy you can make it in the microwave when pressed for time. You dissolve your chicken bullion in hot water, keep nuking it until it dissolves. Then slowly mix in cornstarch and nuke until it thickens. Ok so this isn't a very good recipe but that's because I got really impatient waiting for it to thicken so I thought "hey lets try flour instead and see if it thickens it faster"....four, three, two, one...beep. Ok. Open the microwave. Gravy EVERYWHERE. Did you know that if you microwave flour it basically explodes? I did not. Until tonight. Luckily I let it cool down while we "ate" and by the time I went to clean up the liquid mess it had solidified enough that it did not run all over the place.

So I was seriously considering just having cereal for dinner since it was such a bust but then my mind went to brownies. "why don't I just save those calories for brownies? duh!" So that is why I sit here, smelling the lovely homemade brownies. Drool seeping out of the corners of my mouth...down my chin...you get the picture. I used this amazing recipe I found on Pinterest. I fell in love with it because it tastes identical to the Betty Crocker box brownie mix but it's homemade! Yes I know homemade is always better but I was so in love with the box mix I could never find a homemade brownie recipe that compared...until this one!

Picture courtesy of website as mentioned above. 

Crispy layer on top. Soft, chewy layer underneath...holy crap why am I still typing and not eating my weight in brownies?

So lessons learned
1. Don't buy "rotisserie" flavored anything and expect it to taste good.
2. Don't microwave anything with flour in it
3. When dinner sucks...just make brownies!