I'm only 19 weeks pregnant and already getting antsy for Baby Girl to get here! I'm a planner, and I like to get details hammered out well ahead of time so that everything runs smoothly. Not always the easiest thing to do as a parent, but I try my best. I've checked a lot off my list this past week though, and it's making me so giddy in anticipation. I can't wait for November!
One of the things we've accomplished is deciding on her name. Baby Girl 2.0 is now officially Juliet Elizabeth! Romantic, isn't it? Juliet has been on my list for a long time, but Michael never loved it. But after finding out Baby 2.0 was in fact a girl, he didn't have a choice but to really give all the names I liked some real consideration. He changed his mind about a half dozen times until we both finally decided Juliet was the perfect name.
We chose Elizabeth because three of my bridesmaids--two of which are cousins and the other my best friend since childhood--have either Elizabeth or Eliza as their middle names. We wanted the middle name to have meaning, and what better way than to honor three of my favorite ladies? We also really love the name Elizabeth, and had given it serious consideration as a first name. If it wasn't so ridiculously high on the popularity list, it would have been a done deal. Thankfully, we were still able to use it, and if someday Juliet wants more options for nicknames, Elizabeth gives her plenty.
I've also been organizing baby stuff! When we moved into our new house a few weeks ago, we left all the totes of toys and clothes outgrown by Evie in the garage. If Baby 2.0 was a boy, we would have sold all the clothes and gone through the toys to take out all the girly ones without having to bring everything in the house. But since Baby is in fact a girl (Yay! I still get so excited when I think about it!), we were able to finally put everything away. We tucked a lot of it in a storage closet, but everything that will be used within the first year was left out. You can imagine all the fun I've been having, going through baby clothes and toys!
I don't know how many of you have opened boxes or totes of used baby clothes years later and found horrible yellow stains all over previously clean clothes, but unfortunately this was the case for us. Not so unfortunately, I had already pinned a link on my Pinterest board (the most addicting site in the world!) on how to get rid of those horrible stains. And the tips worked!
Basically, you just add two scoops of Oxiclean and a little detergent to your washing machine, let the soiled clothes agitate in the wash for about five minutes, and then let them soak overnight. In the morning I added about a half cup of white vinegar to the liquid fabric softener part of my washing machine, and then ran the wash. Almost every stain vanished! What few clothes hadn't come clean, I just re-wet so they were quite damp and set out in the sun for a couple of hours. If you didn't already know this, sun is about the best stain remover there is. Every last stain was gone after only two hours! A-freaking-mazing. All those previously awful looking clothes look brand new. And I am not exaggerating when I say that some of them were so awful I had considered just throwing them away. Evie spit up a lot those first few months.
I've accomplished quiet a bit these past few days! And that isn't even all of it. We've gotten Juliet's nursery almost all planned out, but that's a whole post in and of itself. And I've been researching something that's making me feel like a very "crunchy" momma, but that's another whole post too. Make sure to check back soon--I have so much to share!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Baby 2.0 is a...
We had the anatomy ultrasound on Baby 2.0 this morning, and I am happy to announce....
Baby 2.0 is now Baby Girl 2.0!
I have to admit that I was partial to having another little girl, but am a touch sad that I'll never be the mother to a son. We aren't planning on anymore children after this little princess is born so the news of another girl was bittersweet. I'm ecstatic, but a little forlorn at the same time.
Everything looked great at the ultrasound. Baby Girl was moving around like crazy so it was hard for the sonographer to get great pictures of anything. As soon as she'd go to click the perfect image, Baby Girl would bounce away. It was pretty cool to feel her kicking the ultrasound wand though, and wiggling to get out of the way. She was measuring 19 weeks, 4 days which is 9 days ahead of schedule. Every ultrasound she measures just a little bit more ahead which is a tiny bit frightening. Evie weighed a perfect 7lb, 6.5oz at birth. I'm hoping Baby Girl just comes a week or two early rather than being a nine pound newborn!
Now that we know the sex of the baby, I am ready to get working on the nursery! I plan on making as much of her decor, bedding, etc as I possibly can so the sooner I get started the better. I'm excited to get to plan the nursery down to the tiniest details rather than buy a prefabricated bedding set with matching decor. There's nothing wrong with buying a nursery set from the local department store, but I want something a little more original than that.
For some reason it seems harder to make decisions on baby girl stuff than boy stuff this time around. If Baby Girl had been a boy, he would have been named already and his nursery was planned months ago. I like a lot of ideas I've found for girls in both departments, but it's taking a lot more effort to love something. Thankfully I've finally found a nursery color palette that I love. I'll have to write a post soon with the different pictures that have given me inspiration.
Baby Girl doesn't have a name yet. I thought she did, but then Michael changed his mind. It's taking him longer to come around to a name than it does for me. I'm a name connoisseur--I love them and covet them in little lists ever since I was a child. We do have a short list though so hopefully she will have a name soon!
Baby 2.0 is now Baby Girl 2.0!
I have to admit that I was partial to having another little girl, but am a touch sad that I'll never be the mother to a son. We aren't planning on anymore children after this little princess is born so the news of another girl was bittersweet. I'm ecstatic, but a little forlorn at the same time.
Everything looked great at the ultrasound. Baby Girl was moving around like crazy so it was hard for the sonographer to get great pictures of anything. As soon as she'd go to click the perfect image, Baby Girl would bounce away. It was pretty cool to feel her kicking the ultrasound wand though, and wiggling to get out of the way. She was measuring 19 weeks, 4 days which is 9 days ahead of schedule. Every ultrasound she measures just a little bit more ahead which is a tiny bit frightening. Evie weighed a perfect 7lb, 6.5oz at birth. I'm hoping Baby Girl just comes a week or two early rather than being a nine pound newborn!
Now that we know the sex of the baby, I am ready to get working on the nursery! I plan on making as much of her decor, bedding, etc as I possibly can so the sooner I get started the better. I'm excited to get to plan the nursery down to the tiniest details rather than buy a prefabricated bedding set with matching decor. There's nothing wrong with buying a nursery set from the local department store, but I want something a little more original than that.
For some reason it seems harder to make decisions on baby girl stuff than boy stuff this time around. If Baby Girl had been a boy, he would have been named already and his nursery was planned months ago. I like a lot of ideas I've found for girls in both departments, but it's taking a lot more effort to love something. Thankfully I've finally found a nursery color palette that I love. I'll have to write a post soon with the different pictures that have given me inspiration.
Baby Girl doesn't have a name yet. I thought she did, but then Michael changed his mind. It's taking him longer to come around to a name than it does for me. I'm a name connoisseur--I love them and covet them in little lists ever since I was a child. We do have a short list though so hopefully she will have a name soon!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Baby Kicks
I've finally felt Baby 2.0 moving and grooving in there!
I personally think feeling fetal movement is one of the coolest experiences in the world, and the absolute best thing about pregnancy (except for the end result of course). Everyone says that once you've had your first child, you feel fetal movement sooner with subsequent pregnancies. So I've been anxiously awaiting that moment when I first felt Baby 2.0 punching or kicking away.
Unfortunately fetal movement and gas bubbles feel very similar in the beginning. Yeah, I'm not afraid to say it. And those first few times you feel movement, you really aren't sure if it's the baby or it's just a prelude to clearing the room.
When I was pregnant with Evie, I always described those early movements as feeling like popcorn popping just under my skin. This time around, not all the movement feels quite like that. I feel a lot more nudges, like the baby is just bumping up against my skin rather than kicking it.
All I can really say is, it's the coolest feeling. For the past week or so, I kept thinking "maybe that was movement" but it was so infrequent it was so hard to tell. But starting this week, Baby 2.0 has upped the ante. The last few days, I have felt movement multiple times throughout the day. Yesterday, I kept feeling nudges in the exact same place every thirty seconds or so for about five minutes.
There's just something about feeling the baby that makes the pregnancy crystal clear. I've still been holding my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop, and for someone to come along and tell me this was all just a big joke. I think I'm going to feel that way until I hold this baby in my arms. But I can already feel the connection and bond between Baby 2.0 and I deepening with every little nudge and pop.
Only six more days until the "big reveal", and I'm looking forward to the possibility of seeing and feeling Baby 2.0's movements at the same time. I didn't feel movement with Evie until after our "big reveal" ultrasound so I never had that experience. Until then, I'll leave you with my most recent belly bump picture, taken this past weekend at 17 weeks. I feel huge for being only 17 weeks, though I've only gained a few pounds so far. It's a little scary to think of what I'll look like at 40 weeks!
I personally think feeling fetal movement is one of the coolest experiences in the world, and the absolute best thing about pregnancy (except for the end result of course). Everyone says that once you've had your first child, you feel fetal movement sooner with subsequent pregnancies. So I've been anxiously awaiting that moment when I first felt Baby 2.0 punching or kicking away.
Unfortunately fetal movement and gas bubbles feel very similar in the beginning. Yeah, I'm not afraid to say it. And those first few times you feel movement, you really aren't sure if it's the baby or it's just a prelude to clearing the room.
When I was pregnant with Evie, I always described those early movements as feeling like popcorn popping just under my skin. This time around, not all the movement feels quite like that. I feel a lot more nudges, like the baby is just bumping up against my skin rather than kicking it.
All I can really say is, it's the coolest feeling. For the past week or so, I kept thinking "maybe that was movement" but it was so infrequent it was so hard to tell. But starting this week, Baby 2.0 has upped the ante. The last few days, I have felt movement multiple times throughout the day. Yesterday, I kept feeling nudges in the exact same place every thirty seconds or so for about five minutes.
There's just something about feeling the baby that makes the pregnancy crystal clear. I've still been holding my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop, and for someone to come along and tell me this was all just a big joke. I think I'm going to feel that way until I hold this baby in my arms. But I can already feel the connection and bond between Baby 2.0 and I deepening with every little nudge and pop.
Only six more days until the "big reveal", and I'm looking forward to the possibility of seeing and feeling Baby 2.0's movements at the same time. I didn't feel movement with Evie until after our "big reveal" ultrasound so I never had that experience. Until then, I'll leave you with my most recent belly bump picture, taken this past weekend at 17 weeks. I feel huge for being only 17 weeks, though I've only gained a few pounds so far. It's a little scary to think of what I'll look like at 40 weeks!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
When Did June Get Here?
Wow, it's been a busy few weeks! I can't even begin to describe to you how tired I am. And how tired I'm going to continue to be for a little while. But while I'm sitting here with my feet up, refusing to do anything that involves getting off the couch for the rest of the evening, I thought I should end yet another mini-hiatus.
I'm about sixteen and a half weeks pregnant now, and getting very excited to start feeling baby movement. I've thought once or twice that I may have felt something, but since it's so far and few between it's hard to tell. I should start feeling movement for sure within the next few weeks, and I can't wait. It's by far the best part of pregnancy.
I'm definitely starting to look pregnant which I have mixed feelings about. I love that people can tell I'm pregnant, not just chubby--but gaining weight after working so hard to lose it this past year is tough. I know it's for the baby, and I am gaining weight at the appropriate rate. But it's harder to accept this time around.
The "big reveal" is two weeks from yesterday, and I am very excited to find out whether Evie is getting a brother or a sister! Thankfully she's come around and seems excited for it to be either. I "feel" like Baby 2.0 is a girl, but I'm not sure if that's mother's instinct or just wishful thinking. I'm ready to know one way or the other, and to begin the nursery!
There's another reason I've been so exhausted the last few weeks. We've been battling with Base Housing and it's commanding office here at McConnell for the past four months to either get a new house on Base or have ours thoroughly fixed. Our house is from the 1950s and leaks horrendously in the basement when it rains. From the amount of water that was accumulating, mold started to grow. One thing led to another, we found out Michael is allergic to mold, and when they refused to do anything but the very bare minimum to make the house livable for our family, we finally gave up. We moved off base.
The day we found out once and for all that the Base wasn't going to do the right thing to the day we signed the lease on our new home, was a whopping seven days. We toured apartments and townhouses, looked at rundown homes, and finally found a diamond in the rough with our new single family rental home. The housing allowance at McConnell for an Airman does not allow many choices when it comes to adequate housing. You either live in the ghetto or you live in a two bedroom apartment. Neither of those options were very appealing so we were very lucky with our find.
For the past week and a half I've either been packing or unpacking or cleaning. I spent seven hours cleaning the old house today, and I'm not even finished! The final inspection in Base Housing is no joke. I'm still disgusted that they are going to put some poor unsuspecting family into our should-be-condemned old house, but I can't say I'm really surprised at this point. I'll be glad when we finally wash our hands of it all, and walk away with the knowledge that we will probably never live in Base Housing again.
I'll post pictures of the new house soon, once I finally finish unpacking it all. And if I can stand still long enough, I'll have Michael take an updated baby bump picture!
I'm about sixteen and a half weeks pregnant now, and getting very excited to start feeling baby movement. I've thought once or twice that I may have felt something, but since it's so far and few between it's hard to tell. I should start feeling movement for sure within the next few weeks, and I can't wait. It's by far the best part of pregnancy.
I'm definitely starting to look pregnant which I have mixed feelings about. I love that people can tell I'm pregnant, not just chubby--but gaining weight after working so hard to lose it this past year is tough. I know it's for the baby, and I am gaining weight at the appropriate rate. But it's harder to accept this time around.
The "big reveal" is two weeks from yesterday, and I am very excited to find out whether Evie is getting a brother or a sister! Thankfully she's come around and seems excited for it to be either. I "feel" like Baby 2.0 is a girl, but I'm not sure if that's mother's instinct or just wishful thinking. I'm ready to know one way or the other, and to begin the nursery!
There's another reason I've been so exhausted the last few weeks. We've been battling with Base Housing and it's commanding office here at McConnell for the past four months to either get a new house on Base or have ours thoroughly fixed. Our house is from the 1950s and leaks horrendously in the basement when it rains. From the amount of water that was accumulating, mold started to grow. One thing led to another, we found out Michael is allergic to mold, and when they refused to do anything but the very bare minimum to make the house livable for our family, we finally gave up. We moved off base.
The day we found out once and for all that the Base wasn't going to do the right thing to the day we signed the lease on our new home, was a whopping seven days. We toured apartments and townhouses, looked at rundown homes, and finally found a diamond in the rough with our new single family rental home. The housing allowance at McConnell for an Airman does not allow many choices when it comes to adequate housing. You either live in the ghetto or you live in a two bedroom apartment. Neither of those options were very appealing so we were very lucky with our find.
For the past week and a half I've either been packing or unpacking or cleaning. I spent seven hours cleaning the old house today, and I'm not even finished! The final inspection in Base Housing is no joke. I'm still disgusted that they are going to put some poor unsuspecting family into our should-be-condemned old house, but I can't say I'm really surprised at this point. I'll be glad when we finally wash our hands of it all, and walk away with the knowledge that we will probably never live in Base Housing again.
I'll post pictures of the new house soon, once I finally finish unpacking it all. And if I can stand still long enough, I'll have Michael take an updated baby bump picture!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
A Sight For Sore Eyes
This first trimester is majorly kicking my butt which is seriously impeding with my computer time. I promise I want to blog more, but Baby 2.0 seems to have other plans for me at the moment. Thankfully the morning sickness is starting to taper slightly so hopefully I'll start feeling more like a human being and less like a zombie sometime soon.
Today was a big milestone for us though so I had to find time to write a post. We had our nuchal screening today which consisted of an ultrasound and a little blood work. It tests for Downs Syndrome as well as few others, but we mostly went through with the test so we could have another look at Baby 2.0.
What a beautiful sight!
It is so cool to see how much the baby has changed in just a short time. Our last ultrasound was about six weeks ago and the baby was barely a blob on the screen. Today we got to see Baby 2.0 looking like a baby, and wiggling around like crazy. She/he kept stretching out and arching it's back, barely sitting still long enough for the ultrasound technician to take the measurements. Baby was measuring 13 weeks, 3 days which is exactly a week ahead of my due date. We're hoping my doctor will change the due date this time around since both ultrasounds have shown the baby further along than my LMP date, but we'll see how that works out.
If the equipment is of good quality and the technician has enough experience, sometimes she will make an educated guess on the sex of the baby. The technician today said she thought girl, but we aren't painting any nursery colors just yet. If she had say boy I would have been more inclined to trust what she saw--after all, it's a lot easier to miss seeing parts than it is for those parts to disappear. We'll find out for sure in about another five or six weeks!
After hearing the heartbeat two weeks ago, I felt a lot more confident that this pregnancy was going to stick around. Seeing Baby 2.0 on the screen today completely confirmed that. I couldn't stop smiling during the entire ultrasound. I think seeing an actual baby-like image also helped make things seem more real. Since the moment I found out I was pregnant, I was scared of losing this baby too. I think I was really just going through the motions, but unable to let myself really feel like this would all turn out okay. But seeing Baby 2.0 wiggling around...it cemented it all for me.
I'm almost to the second trimester so hopefully I'll be feeling well enough to start blogging more regularly. I'll definitely have lots to talk about!
Today was a big milestone for us though so I had to find time to write a post. We had our nuchal screening today which consisted of an ultrasound and a little blood work. It tests for Downs Syndrome as well as few others, but we mostly went through with the test so we could have another look at Baby 2.0.
What a beautiful sight!
It is so cool to see how much the baby has changed in just a short time. Our last ultrasound was about six weeks ago and the baby was barely a blob on the screen. Today we got to see Baby 2.0 looking like a baby, and wiggling around like crazy. She/he kept stretching out and arching it's back, barely sitting still long enough for the ultrasound technician to take the measurements. Baby was measuring 13 weeks, 3 days which is exactly a week ahead of my due date. We're hoping my doctor will change the due date this time around since both ultrasounds have shown the baby further along than my LMP date, but we'll see how that works out.
If the equipment is of good quality and the technician has enough experience, sometimes she will make an educated guess on the sex of the baby. The technician today said she thought girl, but we aren't painting any nursery colors just yet. If she had say boy I would have been more inclined to trust what she saw--after all, it's a lot easier to miss seeing parts than it is for those parts to disappear. We'll find out for sure in about another five or six weeks!
After hearing the heartbeat two weeks ago, I felt a lot more confident that this pregnancy was going to stick around. Seeing Baby 2.0 on the screen today completely confirmed that. I couldn't stop smiling during the entire ultrasound. I think seeing an actual baby-like image also helped make things seem more real. Since the moment I found out I was pregnant, I was scared of losing this baby too. I think I was really just going through the motions, but unable to let myself really feel like this would all turn out okay. But seeing Baby 2.0 wiggling around...it cemented it all for me.
I'm almost to the second trimester so hopefully I'll be feeling well enough to start blogging more regularly. I'll definitely have lots to talk about!
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