25 weeks

Emma at 2 months old

Emma at 10 months old

Yesterday was my last day of work as a nanny.  Emma is going into daycare next week, and I am now free until August to rest and prepare for our little bundle of joy!  I have a lot of projects in mind for the house and nursery and I am excited to have time to do them, but I will miss my Emma girl!  She is a delight.  I gained lots of practical experience with this job and I am feeling much more prepared for taking care of an infant, though I know that every baby is different. I at least have the basics down!

I am now 25 weeks and feeling very big.  And I still have 15 weeks to get bigger, yikes! Things I never used to think twice about, like getting off the floor, or getting dressed, take effort now.  My biggest complaint is my back has been hurting me recently.  I bought a pregnancy pillow, a prenatal yoga DVD, and I plan to start walking a little every day now that the weather is nicer, so hopefully I can keep it from getting too much worse.  Not repeatedly lifting a very active, wiggly, 20 lb baby every day will probably help too.  I have so much respect for moms of multiple small children; it's hard and exhausting!  

Aside from the back pain, everything is going pretty swimmingly!  I really am very blessed, so far I've had no complications other than a low thyroid, which is easily fixed with medication.  Xander is growing just as he should be.  He likes to kick me at night especially, and right when I'm waking up in the morning.  Yesterday I think he had the hiccups!  And sometimes I think I can tell when he rolls around, it's a weird feeling!  He's kicking hard enough that James can feel it, at least when he cooperates.  I can't wait to meet him and see what he looks like!

I am having fun with the nursery.  We bought a dresser and James has been putting it together.  I've got a little collection of clothes and cloth diapers waiting to be washed and put away.  Next up is painting! I am excited.  I'll post pictures when it looks a little more put together, right now it's just a mess.  I can't believe in just three and a half short months, we will have a baby!  So exciting!

It's Spring!

Spring has finally arrived!  Just a few weeks ago it was snowing, so we are all very excited for the warmer weather!  No more coats and gloves.  Around here, forsythia, Bradford pear trees and cherry trees are everywhere, so we're seeing all kinds of beautiful blossoms.  Flowering trees are something that I didn't see much in Houston, so I soak it all in.  

Forsythia

Bradford pear

Some kind of cherry tree

This weekend I planted a veggie garden in pots on my patio!  I'm so excited; hopefully my first foray into edible gardening won't be a total bust.  I now have two tomato plants, two bell pepper plants, two strawberry plants, a zucchini, a cucumber, and a basil.  I also planted some Dahlia bulbs on a whim.  My patio looks nicer now.  It's fun having a backyard!

James and I also went up to Babies R Us to get some stuff for the baby.  We ordered a dresser and we bought the crib mattress. I was hoping to find a dresser I could refinish on Craigslist, or one from Ikea, but both of those options didn't work out.  The dresser that I liked online from Ikea turned out to look different and plastic-y in the store, and nothing was showing up on Craigslist for months due to our strict specifications.  The nursery is very small, so in order to maximize space, I need a dresser that is not too wide, but wide enough (and short enough) that I can use it as a changing table.  I just couldn't find anything so we splurged with some money we were given from James' grandma and just bought a dresser.  Then we went over to the mall and James made a build-a-bear for him!  It was really fun and I am super excited to be working on the nursery.

At 23 weeks, I am feeling pretty good, but definitely slowing down.  Things like gardening and running errands make me sore and tired now.  I have to sit down and rest more frequently and I'm having issues with my lower back, which was a trouble spot for me before being pregnant, and now it is flaring up again.  It's getting harder to get comfortable at night too, as well as doing things that require bending over. My belly gets in the way. I know it's all par for the course, and really it's not that bad in the scheme of things.  I just have to remember that I can't do as much now and not overwork myself. 

One fun thing that happened this week is that James felt Xander kick for the first time!  James poked my stomach where Xander had been kicking, and he kicked back!  It was really neat.  I'm so glad to have had a nice, productive weekend in the beautiful weather!

22 Weeks

This week we celebrated our 4th anniversary!  Well, we haven't actually celebrated it yet, we're planning to go to New York City for a long weekend in May.  I can't believe it's been 4 years since I walked down that aisle toward the love of my life.  A lot has happened in that time, and I'm so glad to share it with my best friend and husband!  I hope we never stop having adventures together.

In our biggest adventure yet, I am now 22 weeks.  Baby Xander is the size of an eggplant and weighs about a pound by now.  We got the results of our ultrasound back and everything looks great!  Praise the Lord!  His little organs all seem to be growing/working properly, and everything is right on track.  This is especially good to hear since I opted not to get the blood test that screens for chromosomal defects and Spina Bifida.  There is a high risk of false positives with that test and I didn't want to worry needlessly.

I've heard that in the next few weeks the baby is doubling his weight, and I am not surprised because I feel suddenly huge!  I can literally feel my abdomen stretching and pulling as it grows, and it's starting to get more difficult to get off the couch and out of bed.  It is also harder to get comfortable these days when I'm sitting or sleeping.  I've only gained 8 pounds so far though, which is great considering that we've had Easter candy and girl scout cookies in the house for the last month.  Fortunately I haven't had any swelling, and I'm hoping it stays that way.

I haven't had any cravings per se, where you wake up in the middle of the night wanting a certain food, but my favorite snack is strawberries dipped in Nutella with a glass of milk...so good! I actually ate a few spoonfuls out of the jar the other day when I ran out of strawberries, so maybe it does count as a craving. Also I've really been wanting iced coffee lately.  I need to figure out how to make some decaf at home.

Xander is kicking me a lot these days, and I love it!  Except for when he kicks my bladder, that isn't comfortable.  I can't wait till he's strong enough for James to feel.  Keep growing baby boy, we love you!