Holy Heartburn

2 hours and a handful of Tums later and I still have the worst heartburn in the world. It's somewhat painful at this point as a bubble sits between my throat and my belly. No matter what I take or do, tonight it just does not want to go away. To add to my misery, a swollen foot (I look like a relative of the Flinstones) and baby has seemed to have the hiccups on and off now for about an hour. Although these hiccups can be oh so precious at times, tonight they are making trying to fall asleep almost impossible. I am beyond uncomfortable and am certainly at the point where I feel like I can complain to try and help me take my mind off it all. Ha. As my head is throbbing, my feet are aching and my heart is still a blaze, I can't help but ask my sweet baby to please, please let mommy sleep. Her nights of that are running low and would like to enjoy it now. I love you baby boy but goodness, I know you will be a handful when you arrive!

Where Have My Ankles Gone?

As the weeks continue on, not only do I continue to gain weight, but my ankles have become non-existent. With the combination of the tortuous heat and being pregnant, the swelling in my ankles and feet continue to get worse and worse. No matter how long I keep my feet elevated or how much water I may intake, it does not get better. These are now how my ankles look on a good day, after they have had much rest. I am ready for the day when I can see my ankle bone again and I don't have to worry about whether or not my hearts (tattoo) are going to change shape! Unfortunately, its been semi-painful the past few weeks as I have been swollen and gaining weight. Working on my feet all day doesn't help either so I will be relieved when I won't have to do that everyday! So for the next 5 weeks (Yay! We are already at 35 weeks!) I will have to stay off my feet as much as possible, keep my sodium to a minimum and drink tons and tons of water!

Nick sure does love me as he knows just how to get to my heart! When we registered, he told me not to register for a diaper bag that he was going to pick one out. Well, once our shower had come and gone, I realized that I did not have a diaper bag. I certainly feel like one lucky, spoiled mommy as this is what he decided to get for me, oh do I love that boy!

 We took our maternity pictures today so I hope to have those soon to be able to update. They came out really good! I am such a conservative person that it was all I could do to get a belly shot. I'm glad Nick convinced me to do it cause they turned out really tasteful. We also were given a baby shower by all of those at work who love us! It was definitely so generous of them to do so. I am hoping that I can get pictures from both showers here soon and be able to update about the shower before baby comes! It's already been a few weeks since our big shower and I haven't posted any pictures at all (shame on me).

Baby is still doing well and healthy! Measurements are great and moving around like a little monkey! I am waking up more at night from him moving or having to go potty and feeling more uncomfortable from getting bigger but otherwise, looks like we are right on schedule! I cannot wait to hold my little man. I'm sure that he won't be in any hurry to get here, but I hope he doesn't show up fashionably late either!

Our "Monkey's" Room

We are now at 34 weeks which means that we are in the home stretch of this wonderful pregnancy! I am so excited to meet this little boy and get back to my normal self again. I am so tired of the heartburn, swelling, aching and so forth. I certainly have enjoyed feeling our baby move each and every day and being able to feel him inside of me. However, the sacrifices that we have to make are certainly not fun by any means. I'm sure a day will come in which I may miss being pregnant--but it's not today!

Baby is still growing and growing and so is mommy's belly. Here we are at 32 weeks in which the camera began to focus on my belly rather than on my face. I suppose it's a good thing that my face hasn't blown up to twice it's size--but still. I am now having fewer and fewer clothes that I have been able to wear and am certainly not enjoying the wonderful Colorado heat. As if the swelling in my feet and ankles doesn't get bad enough, the heat makes it even worse which leads to all the other symptoms. Miserable. Note to self: plan next baby to be born before summer starts. Despite the 'growing pains', baby seems to be growing right on pace and looks to be as healthy as can be.

We were finally able to finish putting baby's room together! *Cheers* Although it is now full of stacks of clothes, boxes and other goodies from the shower, there is paint on the walls, furniture built and in place and decor. I am definitely a little relieved that we were able to finish prior to the baby shower. Unfortunately, I have to now organize everything to finally be prepared for him. We went back and forth deciding whether or not we wanted to do a themed room. After shopping around and seeing such adorable things, we couldn't help but surround our little monkey with some jungle friends of his own. Our safari/jungle theme has come together quite well and has included some DIY projects done by mommy to add that extra love in the room. Here are some pictures as we began completing the room:

This is the view looking into the room from the hallway. 

After moving in, we painted the room a light green. Mainly cause we didn't want white but also just in case a baby were to come eventually. We didn't maybe think it would be this soon--but we are just fine with it.

We decided to go with the green and brown. Both neutral colors that would suit either boy or girl. We taped off the room to paint the bottom brown and we would later add the chair rail--a sophisticated touch (we think so).

A view of the room from the back corner looking out into the hallway. Daddy was finishing putting up all the tape to start painting. 

After we had finished painting the bottom brown, we added the white chair rail along the border to tie the 2 colors in together. I think it broke up the room just enough. (Here it does kind of look like mint chocolate chip ice cream). The pictures don't do it justice-it looks much better in person.

The top picture is the same view looking into the room from the hallway and the bottom picture is in the room facing the window.

Here's a few pictures of daddy being a good sport while putting together the giant crib!

I sure do love him!

The bunches and bunches of pieces!

Attaching the box spring for the mattress

The finished product!

He was such a trooper climbing under and behind things in order to get the darn thing put together!











The crib definitely has a red tint to it. After starting to put it together-I became worried. However, with all of the other furniture in there, it doesn't stand out too much. I think it is a beautiful crib!

Jungle animals!

This is the adorable decor that we chose. I think it tied everything in together really well and I cannot wait to get bedding and everything else to make it a completed room!










I made these pictures from some stencils, scrapbook paper and some ribbon. The stencils of the animals are so cute and the middle on is the alphabet. 

These are his name blocks that will go above his crib. I found a great deal online and then painted them the same color brown as the walls. I used the ribbon from the pictures for a way to hang them. 

More jungle animals above the closet. 

After the letters were hung above the crib

I had to get a picture after we got everything together because I was so excited that we finally had a 'room' for the baby. It was no longer a storage facility, but a place that he would be able to enjoy after he arrived! 

The crib is just to the right of the window.

This is the same view of the room from the hallway looking into the room. There is a dresser on the right side and we will put a glider right in front of the crib. There is not much room for anything else. It will take much organization on my part to make sure that things don't get too cluttered!

A very proud mamma!

After a long few days of working straight, we were finally able to finish the room. Nick was so great in putting up with my need for perfection. I helped with painting when I could, and screwed in a few nuts and bolts on the crib. Although he did the majority of the work, I still have my motherly touch surrounding the room. I cannot wait to get all everything else together and reveal the finished room. Until then, we have began to establish the next chapter in our lives and I am definitely looking forward to it.

30 Weeks!

Okay. So clearly I stink at updating this regularly so I am not going to promise anything from here on out. Ha. However, we are finally at 30 weeks which means that there are only 10 more to go. I cannot believe that 30 weeks have already passed as I felt at first that 40, pregnant, was going to last a lifetime. Baby is continuing to get bigger and bigger at this point, yet so is Mommy. Of course we have pictures to prove it! I am definitely not feeling flattering by any angle at this point.

We have started making progress on the room and I hope that we can have it pretty much set before the baby shower on July 1st. Registering for baby was not as fun as I thought that it was going to be. We went into it thinking we knew pretty much what we were looking for and was completely overwhelmed when we were handed a 2 page checklist of things that we should register for. How do we know what kind of bottles, car seats, sheets, and so forth to choose from? There are like 1,000 different types of each one! I realized I must trust my Mommy instinct and know that it will all work out. It was a relief though to know that we were able to get it out of the way.

 As the day is slowly approaching, I am getting more anxious and nervous about how this baby boy is going to come out! It seems surreal that it will have to happen sooner than later. We have registered for Mommy and Daddy dummy classes to help us with the preparation. (I know that they are very important and informative but that is how the descriptions of the classes make you feel!) Nick is such a great support and I know that he will be a great coach and help me through it all. I'm sure I will feel relieved after getting more information at the classes. Otherwise, at the last doctor visit, we were told everything looks 'perfect' on paper and the baby is healthy and growing just as he should be.

How Far Along? 30 weeks
Total Weight Gain:  I think I'm up to 20 lbs. now
Size Of Baby: He is between 15 and 16 inches long and weighs about 3 pounds. He weighs as much as a large head of cabbage!
What's Baby Up To? His hands are fully formed and his fingernails are growing. Eyes are opening and closing which means that they could be dreaming. Eyebrows and eyelashes are developed and baby's head and body are proportioned like a newborn.
Maternity Clothes? Yep. Loving the leggings and maternity shirts.
Stretch Marks? Nope. Thank goodness.
Sleep: Getting better, sleeping more than I had been and able to sleep through the night but having crazy dreams in the meantime.
Miss Anything? Cute clothes and shoes.
Best Moment This Week: We could see him moving from one side of the belly to the other. It was amazing to see more than just a few flutters.
Movement: Moving like crazy, kicking, somersaulting and rolling. 
Food Cravings: Chocolate, but what's new.
Anything Make You Queasy or Sick: Not this week.
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Heartburn. Swelling of the ankles.
Belly Button: At this point, it's in between!
Wedding Rings: Glad that they are still on.
Happy or Moody: Happy
Looking Forward To: Cleaning up the nursery and celebrating baby at the baby shower.

Less Than 100 Days to Go...

We are now at week 26 which means we now have less than 100 days to go! It's hard to believe that 26 weeks have already gone by, it seems like the next 14 are going to take forever. I have definitely felt lots of changes the past month including my weight, belly size and the movement of our little monkey. The kicks are getting stronger and his movements are more often. It's such a wonderful feeling to know that there is a little one inside of you. Even better, Nick can often feel him moving too. We are excited to get the nursery put together here soon. We have had so many other household projects, including re-doing flooring in multiple rooms and re-landscaping our backyard, that we have put the baby's room on hold. I am ready to start nesting and get things in order. Too much chaos makes me nervous at this point in the game.

However, we did buy our crib a few weeks ago and I absolutely love it. Although it is still sitting in the box, I feel a sense of relief that one of the big furniture purchases is out of the way. The best part is that it comes with the changing table which eliminates having to purchase another piece of furniture and it frees up a lot of space in the room. I couldn't help but fall in love with the jungle theme, it's too precious. This may not be the one that we get but I'm sure it will be quite similar. (The picture of course is one from the store, not from the crib set up in the room). I hope now will come the fun part of decorating the nursery. I'd rather not stress about what colors to paint, but knowing me, I will until it is completed. I'm crossing my fingers that we will be able to finish the nursery (or the majority of it) before the baby shower at the beginning of July. This way, we will only have to fill in the missing pieces, and not put the entire puzzle together.

I thought it would be fun to try and update every week (I reiterate the try portion of that statement) of the changes and growth of the baby. It's at the fun point now where the baby is growing rapidly and of course my moods are constantly changing that the documentation of it will be fun to look at later on.

How Far Along? 26 weeks
Total Weight Gain: 15 lbs. (not too bad I think)
Size Of Baby: About 2 lbs. and 12 to 13 inches. Baby is the size of a head of lettuce!
What's Baby Up To? Baby's ears are more developed and he can hear mommy and daddy's voices now. He is inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid which will give him good practice for when he takes his first breath once he is born.
Maternity Clothes? Of course-I can still wear some of my pre-pregnancy shirts but most bottoms and tops for that matter are maternity.
Stretch Marks? Nope. Not yet.
Sleep: Most of the time pretty good, once I can fall asleep I am usually out for the night. But, he is usually active right as I lay down so sometimes it takes me a while to get to sleep.
Miss Anything? Tying my shoes, thank goodness it will be summer time and I can wear sandals from here on out.
Best Moment This Week: Nick was able to see Mason move. After feeling his tough kicks, Nick looked at by belly and was able to see our little boy active.
Movement: Moving like crazy, some days more than others
Food Cravings: Nothing too outrageous, just a sweet tooth.
Anything Make You Queasy or Sick: Chinese food. Uck.
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Heartburn. Horrible Heartburn.
Belly Button: Still an innie!
Wedding Rings: Although my fingers swell quite often, the rings are still on.
Happy or Moody: Every week changes but this week was so happy. Lots of great things going on right now so nothing to really be moody about.
Looking Forward To: Getting more furniture and items to prepare baby's nursery. Mama is getting anxious.

Our Peanut is a Boy!

We were lucky to find out this week that our little peanut is a baby boy! It seemed like we had to wait forever to find out. We are so excited to finally know what to expect and are definitely ready to break out all of the blue! Baby looks very healthy and everything seems to be going great. Thank goodness! At 21 weeks baby seems to be getting bigger and bigger by the day.

Now we are ready to finally begin picking things out for the nursery, choosing paint colors and preparing for our little boy to come. Luckily, we had names for a boy and a girl picked out even before we found out we were expecting. So when we found out we were having a boy, there was no doubt in our mind that our little one would become Mason James. Although this name is making its way up the popularity list, it was about what name sounded best for us. Thus far, I don't know of many Masons but it could be that once he is in school, there may be 4 other boys with the same name. For now (and I'm sure when he arrives), the name is absolutely perfect for him.

Now that the tough part is out of the way (that is deciding a name), we have all of the other small decisions that seem so huge at this point. Preparing the nursery and registering are just a few of the things that are on my mind daily. I hope that everything will come together, in a timely manner, and my stress will be at ease. From this point forward, we pray that everything continues to go smoothly and baby Mason stays healthy and grows just as he should. Everything else that will come with having him in our life, is just icing on the cake.

Halfway Done!

I cannot believe that we are already halfway through the pregnancy! It seems like it has gone so incredibly fast! I'm sure that the next 20 weeks may not feel as fast, August feels like so far away. After the first few visits with our doctor, she told us that as of week 20, we could rest assure that the baby was here to stay. It's certainly a relief to know that we have finally reached this point in time and that hopefully the rest is not so stressful.

Although I have enjoyed the feeling of being pregnant and knowing that I am going to be a parent, I definitely miss the times of being young. I do have friends that are in the same position that I am: married with children (or 1 on the way at least). But I still have friends that are still enjoying going out occasionally and having fun. I always wanted to be a mom, first and foremost before anything else. I just don't think I realized how much your life changes when you become responsible for another. I cannot help but laugh when looking at this because it certainly describes the changes between partying and pregnancy.

Although I miss the times that I am able to go out and be a part of the party scene, I have a great husband, family and really supportive friends. They know that even though I am lame and unable to party with them, they still invite me and make sure that I am a part of things. (Usually though it's to be the designated driver). Soon enough I will be able to join in the festivities again but I guess until then I will take in the joys of being a soon-to-be mama. I have heard that once the baby is hear, you miss being pregnant. I will have to see for myself soon enough I suppose.