Monday, June 28, 2010

17 Weeks




  • How far along?: seventeen weeks
  • What's baby up to?: Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. His umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints.
  •  Weight Gain: I have gained two pounds total; as of last appointment
  •  Symptoms: crazy dreams; headaches 
  •  How big is baby?: about the size of an onion (about 5.1 inches)
  •  Sex: we find out on July 7 (hopefully)
  •  Maternity clothes?: a few pieces
  •  Stretch marks?: nope
  •  Sleep?: pretty good; still gotta go potty at least once a night, sometimes more
  •  Best moment this week?: Celebrating our first wedding anniversary
  •  Movement?: not yet
  •  Food cravings?: none
  •  Labor signs?: n/a
  •  Belly button in or out?: in, but it is flattening and is sensitive
  •  What I miss: not feeling like I'm made of glass
  •  What I'm looking forward to: finding out if it's a boy or girl and feeling him/her move
  •  Milestone: reaching the 2nd trimester

Sunday, June 27, 2010

One Year...

A year ago today, I was all smiles:


Mikey stood waiting:


We jumped the broom:


And partied the night away:


Here's to the start of another year together, and the coming of our little one!


Monday, June 21, 2010

16 Weeks




  • How far along?: sixteen weeks
  • What's baby up to?: Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender.
  • Weight Gain: I have gained two pounds total.
  • Symptoms: tender boobs; crazy dreams; headaches 
  • How big is baby?: about the size of a avocado (about 4.6 inches)
  • Sex: we find out on July 7 (hopefully)
  • Maternity clothes?: a few pieces
  • Stretch marks?: nope
  • Sleep?: pretty good; still gotta go potty at least once a night
  • Best moment this week?: 
  • Movement?: not yet
  • Food cravings?: none
  • Labor signs?: n/a
  • Belly button in or out?: in, but it is starting to flatten and is sensitive
  • What I miss: sleeping through the night
  • What I'm looking forward to: finding out if ti's a boy or girl 
  • Milestone: reaching the 2nd trimester


Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Nursery Project: The Crib

After the news that we should be finding out in three short weeks whether we'll be having a boy baby or a girl baby, I figured Mikey and I had better start figuring some things out.  And what better place to start than deciding on a place for the little one to sleep?  So the hunt for a crib is officially on.

Finding the crib is easier said than done.  There are so many choices, and it's hard to know what's safe and what's not.  Then there are the superficial choices.  Do we want a convertible crib or not?  Stained or painted?  What shade of stain: expresso, cherry, oak, honey, or natural?  Do we want modern or traditional style?  What price range?  Drop-sides or stationary? Decisions, Decisions...

I would like the crib that we end up with to be made of solid wood, have a non-toxic finish, have a modern look with clean lines, have stationary sides, and meet US safety standards.  A convertible crib would be an added bonus, and I think I want a stained finish.

So after figuring out what we want, it's time to shop.

Option # 1:  DaVinci Emily

This is a convertible crib made of pine, a soft wood.  It converts into a toddler bed, daybed, and full sized bed.  It comes in cherry, oak, ebony, and white finishes.  It has stationary sides, and meets all of the safety standards.  It also is recommended by Consumer Reports.  Not exactly the look I am looking for, but acceptable.  It's priced at around $250.

Option #2: IKEA Leksvik

This is also a convertible crib, however, it only converts into a toddler bed.  It's made of a mixture of solid beech (main parts and bed side) and spruce (panels and slats).  As far as I can tell, it only comes in the finish shown.  It has stationary sides, and meets US safety standards, and is also recommended by Consumer Reports.  I like that end panels are solid instead of slatted (is that a word?), and the price is right at $160.


Option #3: Baby's Dream Cube

This crib is also convertible.  It converts into a toddler bed, and two full beds.  You use both the solid and slatted side panels of the crib as the head boards of the full beds.  It has stationary sides, and comes in white or expresso finishes.  I also like that all Baby's Dream cribs are made of solid wood.  It meets all US safety standards, and according to the Baby's Dream website they guarantee that they use non-toxic finishes.  It's the most expensive crib I found at $550.  I love the modern look.




Option #4: Baby's Dream Ocean v1

This crib is also convertible.  It converts into a toddler bed, and a twin bed.  It has stationary sides, and comes in white or expresso finishes.  Again, I like that all Baby's Dream cribs are made of solid wood.  It meets all US safety standards, and according to the Baby's Dream website they guarantee that they use non-toxic finishes.  It's a little less expensive at $450.  I love the clean lines.

Like I said before; decisions, decisions.  Here's what I think.  I love the Baby's Dream cribs.  I think they are beautiful, and I wish that I could justify putting that much money into a crib.  I just don't think that I can.  That makes me sad, but it is what it is.  And we are not rich.  So I guess options 3 and 4 aren't really options, but they sure are beautiful.  The DaVinci Emily has the most options for converting, and is more reasonably priced.  I'm not sure about how non-toxic the finish is, and it's not exactly modern, but does have the clean lines.  I wish the end panels were solid instead of slatted.  It's not exactly what I wanted, but acceptable.  According to buyer ratings, there is reason to be concerned about the durability of the finish and the quality of the wood.  Babies apparently like to  mouth their cribs, and if the finish won't stand up to that, then that's a concern.  Also because pine is a soft wood, it will probably break off quite easily with little nibbling teeth.  The IKEA Leksvik has only one option for converting, but the best price.   Again not sure how non-toxic the finish is, but it's closer to the look that I want.  The only complaints that I found for this one were that its difficult to assemble, and that you have to assemble the base that supports the mattress.

Now we just have to decide which one.

Monday, June 14, 2010

15 Weeks



We had a doctor's appointment today.  According to the doctor, all looks well.  The baby is growing right on schedule, and the heartbeat is strong.  And we have our big ultrasound (and hopefully) find out whether we're having a boy or girl in three weeks.

Speaking of finding out, this past week, I dreamed that I went in for the anatomy scan. When it came to the part where the ultrasound tech tells you the baby's sex, she said, "You're having a BOY!"  And BOY! kept flashing across the ultrasound screen.  We'll see what happens.
  • How far along?: fifteen weeks
  • What's baby up to?: Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.
  • Weight Gain: I have gained two pounds total.
  • Symptoms: tender boobs; irritability; crazy dreams 
  • How big is baby?: about the size of a navel orange (about 4 inches)
  • Sex: we find out on July 7
  • Maternity clothes?: just the maternity pants, and I still like my belly bands; I'm going shopping soon.
  • Stretch marks?: nope
  • Sleep?: pretty good; still gotta go potty at least once a night
  • Best moment this week?: working my last day of work for this school year
  • Movement?: nope
  • Food cravings?: none
  • Labor signs?: n/a
  • Belly button in or out?: in, but it is starting to flatten and is sensitive
  • What I miss: sleeping through the night
  • What I'm looking forward to: my next doctor's appointment 
  • Milestone: reaching the 2nd trimester

Monday, June 7, 2010

14 Weeks

  • How far along?: fourteen weeks
  • What's baby up to?: Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth.
  • Weight Gain: no new information
  • Symptoms: tender boobs; irritability;  
  • How big is baby?: about the size of a lemon (about 3.4 inches)
  • Sex: n/a
  • Maternity clothes?: just the maternity pants, and I still like my belly bands
  • Stretch marks?: nope
  • Sleep?: pretty good; still gotta go potty at least once a night
  • Best moment this week?: this past week has been pretty blah.
  • Movement?: nope
  • Food cravings?: food
  • Labor signs?: n/a
  • Belly button in or out?: in
  • What I miss: sleeping through the night
  • What I'm looking forward to: my next doctor's appointment 
  • Milestone: reaching the 2nd trimester

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Feeling Yucky

For most of this pregnancy, I have been experiencing almost all day nausea.  Well, I have officially crossed over.  Today was the day that my body decided that it didn't like me.  And the baby let me know that he or she does not like Burger King.  Hopefully there are no repeat performances.