25 Weeks!

Oh wow, I can't believe I'm down to 15 weeks left. Only 100 days til our due date, a little over 3 months. I go back to the doctor tomorrow so we will see how things are looking. I'm curious to see how much weight I've gained this month. I'm supposed to be gaining about a pound a week. And with 15 weeks to go that would mean another 15 lbs. I just can't even imagine where its gonna go. I'm already having trouble with my balance and doing things as it is. I have to really concentrate now not to waddle because waddling definitely feels better with all of this extra weight and baby I'm carrying right in the middle!

Over the last week or so she has started kicking my bladder. Very weird and uncomfortable feeling. I'm hoping I don't end up peeing my pants one of these days when she gives me a big punch to the bladder!

We did lots of yard work all weekend. The boys dug up the back yard and leveled it. Then planted grass seed and put down straw. Gran and I replanted the flower beds in the front. We are keeping the dogs inside for the week to try to give the grass a head start. We also bought deck furniture finally so its starting to look good back there! I'm excited to enjoy it this summer. Me and Carli are gonna lay in the hammock and take our naps! We decided to have the baby shower at my house since the bakery won't be open and I have such a big outdoor area. So should be alot of fun!

Caleb got the frame up on the dresser so now we have a changing table as soon as I get the changing table pad made. I started sewing the cover Sunday and we cut the foam to fit. But like I said last week the dogs must be deprived of attention or sensing this baby coming. I woke up Monday morning and heard a little too much noise outside my bedroom door, jumped up to find Diesel eating my foam! I was sooo mad at him. So now I've got to go find more foam and start over. I did get done sewing all of my pillows and Gran finished her blankets for the room (of course she has already started on new ones though).

I'm kind of surprised my belly button isn't completely inside out already but its now just a slit. It looks so funny. Not too much longer before it pops out like a turkey timer!

Not sure if I'll have time to write again before the end of the week so...

HAPPY EASTER!

24 Week Belly Picture

Another week gone! 24 down, 16 to go. It is really weird to me to have more weeks behind me than how many I have left. Next week I'll be down to 15 weeks til my due date. For some reason 15 sounds so few to me, I think time will really start flying by after that.

I have been having crazy horrible heartburn. But it's supposed to be a sign that she will have lots of hair! I don't think any babies in my family or Caleb's have been born bald so I'm thinking this could be accurate. We are having a 3D/4D ultrasound done in a few weeks so we ought to be able to find out for sure too. Too bad we won't be able to tell what color hair she will have, I think that is the thing everyone is most curious about because I have blonde hair (used to be almost white when I was young) and Caleb has black hair! My whole life I always imagined having my blonde haired kids so it's going to be a shock if a baby shows up with dark hair, even though I think either is beautiful. I can't wait to see who she looks like and what features she got from who.

It's about that time to start thinking about baby classes! I'm starting to sign up for classes this week. Caleb is soooo excited about it (NOT!) but I think they will be helpful and they are so cheap at $10 a class I think we would be stupid not to take advantage of what the hospital offers. My schedule is really starting to get booked up between baby classes, the Master's, a trip to the beach, baby showers, birthday parties, house projects, and I think you get the point. Should be a crazy 3 months!

I wonder if I'm spending to much time on the baby already and neglecting the dogs. They have been so good, I can't remember when the last time they got into something was but yesterday they pulled everything off the coffee table while I was getting ready for work. They ate two pens, started on my nail polish which luckily didn't bust, ate their doggie finger toothbrush (which Diesel threw up this morning at 4am), and a bottle cap. That's just the things they left evidence of. But it also rained for a few days so they were locked inside and went without their walks so maybe they had some pent up energy! They usually get so much attention they are going to have a little bit of an adjustment when the baby gets here. But they do so good with kids and babies they have been around we aren't worried about that part.

I started sewing all those pillows on the twin bed so I'm about half way done. It took alot more hours than I thought. I had no idea how that project was going to turn out but so far, I'm really impressed with myself. I think if I didn't tell you, you would think I bought them that way. Gran has knitted a blanket for the crib that is so cute and is finishing one for the bed also. It's all just turning out great.

23 Weeks!

So according to the What to expect when you're expecting book, I'm now in the 6th month! I'm afraid I'm about at that waddling stage. This week I've started to notice how much harder it is to do simple things like roll over in bed or especially get out of bed. I sat down on the floor and Caleb was giving me a hard time watching me maneuver my way back off the floor. I'm wondering how big and uncomfortable I'm going to be by the time July gets here. I'm definitely going to be one of those pregnant women that waddles though, I've already started noticing it some when I'm walking around.

I think I said this once before but I'm loving having some warm weather for a change. The first thing everyone says about my due date being in July though is "oh no, you're going to be so hot and miserable" so I may have a change of heart later but for now I love it. It's great to be able to wear my maternity clothes (which are all spring/summer items) and be comfortable instead of squeezing in my now unflattering non maternity tops. I've been walking the dogs everyday and trying to get some more of my exercise outside too. I read yesterday that exercise during pregnancy has been linked to higher IQ now so there's one more reason for me to keep it up.

We did finally get our gift registries done this weekend. We were the first ones in Babies R Us saturday so thankfully we missed the crowd. Then we did Target that night. Hopefully we got all the important things on there, I'm not sure how you are supposed to know exactly what you need (or don't need for that matter) being a first time parent. We did buy a gate and put that up so now the dogs can't get to the nursery. It's so nice now we can leave the door open, I love being able to see in there when we walk by. I went over to Rachael's sunday and basically robbed her of all her baby stuff that Hailey has outgrown. She is letting me borrow all kinds of things like a cradle, bouncy seat, clothes, and the list goes on. It is gonna be a huge help!

And if you read the last post you know we finally decided on her name. Carli Hope Saruse! We started to give her my middle name but we thought Hope sounded so much prettier than Faith with Carli. We both really like spelling it with an "I" better than a "Y". It's so fun to be able to call her by her name. Especially when I'm telling stories and can say Guess what Carli did? She kicked me all night. Her clock is definitely backwards right now so we are hoping that isn't the case come July!

More Nursery Pictures

And her name is...

What a pain it was to hang these letters, they did not want to hang level you had to tie the ribbon just the right height, and spacing them evenly when the letters aren't the same sizes etc. Caleb is anal about getting his measurements right and I just want it to look pretty so it took us forever. Good thing her name is only 5 letters.

We still want to put some book shelves or something of that sort between the two big windows.

I still need to find a nightstand small enough to fit between the bed and the crib so I can put the lamp and CD player on there.

The dresser will be the changing table once Caleb gets the railing painted and put on top. Then I have to make the changing table pad. And of course when its all said and done we will need a diaper genie and a laundry hamper beside the dresser. Two of those things that unfortunately come with a baby, dirty diapers and dirty clothes!

Then here is the twin bed. I've got lots of sewing to do here too. I've got several different fabrics so I'm going to cover all these pillows plus some so its more like a sofa. Except of course those nights when the baby won't sleep and I end up using it as the bed it actually is. Eventually this will be Carli's bed when she outgrows the crib but we have plenty of time before that gets here.

I'm not sure why some of these pictures look so bright but its more of a pale yellow on the walls not a bright sunshine yellow.

Nursery Picture

This is a quick picture I took over the weekend but I'll take some more when I get her name hung up hopefully tonight. I'll take some close ups so you can really see how pretty the crib/bed skirt and the curtains are. Right now its hard to see the skirt though because of the height we have the mattress set at. When we lower the mattress as the baby grows you'll see more of the details.

4 Months To Go!

Well I've officially been pregnant too long now, it's gone to my brain! I got an email today that said automatic and I read amniotic. I had to reread that one because I was sure an accountant was not emailing me about my pregnancy especially not about my amniotic fluid.

I didn't have time to write much this week I had an auditor and all kinds of craziness at work. But I'll do my best to catch everyone up. I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already though, I'm not sure where this week has gone. As of tomorrow (3/12) I have only 4 months to go until my due date.

Last weekend I went with two girls I know that are also pregnant to the mall. We are all due within 2 days of each other so that was alot of fun to chit chat and hang out with people going through the same things, and of course then no one feels like they are talking about themselves or their baby too much. I'm the only one having a girl though so I shopped in the little girls sections while they were in the boy sections. They are both excited about their boys but jealous at how much more fun it is to shop for girls. I tried to limit myself because I'm sure I'll get lots of clothes for gifts but I couldn't resist a few adorable tiny outfits I saw. I can't believe how little these clothes are. I love the things that look like something I would wear, like when babies are dressed like mini grown-ups. And wow does shopping wear me out these days, I used to could (thats one of those southern sayings usetacould) shop and shop and never get tired but I was exhausted and my feet were throbbing after a few hours.

The weather was so gorgeous for a few days, I really got spoiled. I got to wear some of my new maternity clothes for a change. Sunshine and warm weather always make me happy! Makes you grateful for everything you have. Now its rainy and yuck so I'm praying for the sun to come back!

We are so close to being done on the nursery now. We got the mattress for the twin bad so that is all set up. We got the letters for her name painted and the ribbon to hang them. We are going to try to do that tonight. I'll take a picture when its up and everyone can see what her name is...for the most part I've kept it a secret this long so what's another day or two. Caleb is getting the railing done so the dresser will be a changing table soon. Then I have some sewing to do. I'm making the changing table pad and a bunch of pillows for the beds. Should be interesting to see how those things turn out, I don't have much experience with a sewing machine. The only other things we have left are if I find any pictures or anything I want to hang and I'd like to put a few book shelves up. But nothing we couldn't do without.

Caleb is finally done with P90X that crazy workout program he did. Its been nice to have my husband back and not trying to work around his workouts every night. So we've had a lot more time to get things done this week. With him working out every single day though it made it easier for me to want to do my workouts though. So I took a few days off from working out (besides walking the dogs in the awesome weather) and finally made myself get back on the treadmill last night.

My sister-in-law is pregnant with baby number 2 now so our little one will have a cousin the same age. They will be about 3 - 4 months apart depending exactly when these babies make their arrivals. So I think that will be a lot of fun especially since we see them pretty often. We will have the first grandchild on my side of the family but on his side she will be the 9th (7th biological, Caleb's brother's girlfriend has 2 kids we claim).

I also had my first stranger ask me when I was due this week. I was soooo excited because that means I officially look pregnant no more wondering or feeling like I just look chubby! When us preggo girls went to the mall we walked by a group of people waiting in the check out line and one lady said "LOOK, they are all pregnant!" It was so funny, but I guess it is strange to see 3 of us out together.

22 Week Belly Picture

I almost forgot to take my belly pictures last night but here they are. I was all ready for bed when Caleb remembered so I'm half asleep in these pictures :P

Pretty Eventful Week!

We had a little scare at my doctor's appointment on Wednesday, which turned out to be a false alarm. They sure know how to make a pregnant woman worry! The doctor measured my uterus and it is supposed to be the same amount of centimeters as how many weeks you are, but I measured 26 weeks. She said it could just be that I'm so small and short waisted that the baby has no where to go but up but it could also mean a whole lot of other things so she wanted to do a quick ultrasound. The doctor did the ultrasound and said I had too much fluid around the baby which probably meant I had gestational diabetes but she was worried for me to have that so early on. So she scheduled me for another ultrasound Thursday to recheck my fluid levels and see if it was a fluke because sometimes your levels fluctuate from day to day and if not they would start testing me and the baby for different things. Caleb couldn't go to the appointment so my mom and Gran got to go and get a little peak at the baby girl. Who by the way is definitely a girl without a doubt after we checked again. When I went back Thursday for my ultrasound with the Ultrasound tech she said everything looked great and my fluid levels were in the normal range and right at average. She also told me that she hates when the doctor does the scans so we aren't sure if the doctor miscalculated my fluid levels (they aren't trained on those machines) or if my levels were just high one day but regardless I guess my uterus is just gonna be big, the doctor said I looked like a 7 month pregnant woman she would see, probably just due to me being so short! So I have absolutely no reasons to worry they said.

On a side note, probably all of my kids are going to be taller than me. I am the shortest in my family at 5 feet 2 inches (and I might be slightly under that) and Caleb is over 6 feet with all of the girls in his family several inches taller than me. My mom has been telling us for as long as I can remember that we needed to get rid of the short gene in our family :) so I might actually have accomplished that.

I have been feeling all kinds of cartwheels, flips and other acrobatics going on in my belly this week. She is the most active in the mornings and I was laying in bed Wednesday and staring at my stomach and I could see her kick and it looked like a wave went across my belly. It was the weirdest thing but so neat. So I figured if I can see it you outta be able to feel it on the outside for sure. So we got Caleb to feel it after dinner when she was active that night. FINALLY! I think he was really excited to finally get to feel her too. Now he should be able to feel her more and more often. I also read she is about a pound now. So she is really starting to gain. That may be why you can feel her on the outside now, she has more weight so she can put some force behind those kicks and punches!

I got my curtains and bedskirt done this week. Sooooo cute! I LOVE the way everything turned out. Caleb hung the curtain rods and I ironed the curtains last night so we got those up. I still need to iron the bedskirt and put that in the crib. Gran is also knitting me a blanket for the crib that is adorable. I can't wait to see it finished. Then the crib will just be missing our precious little baby! I'll try to take a picture or two this weekend to show everyone. It's also almost time to take another belly picture too. Wow how fast is time going by!?

21 Weeks!

Well another week closer to our due date! Another week closer to meeting our little one! She has started moving more and more. I think she is doing acrobatics in there. Everytime she is really active, Caleb doesn't seem to be around! Or as soon as I tell him to feel then she stops moving. She is playing games with Daddy already. I went to church yesterday and that was the longest period of time I've felt her nonstop so far. Its not your typical church they play loud more modern christian songs instead of the old hymns so I think she was dancing to all the music. They say her hearing is getting really strong at this point and loud noises can even startle her.

We had another busy weekend. We got lots of things done in the nursery and around the house. They are almost done with my bedding for the crib, they were finishing everything up and didn't quite have enough fabric so I had to go back to the fabric store for more. Hopefully after this week I'll have everything put together minus all of the finishing touchs like odds and ends decorations. I want to put her name on the wall above the crib for one so I need to make sure we are 100% agreed on the name then I can get that done. I'll post pictures when all the big stuff is finished.

I finally have given up on fitting in any of my regular clothes and completely packed away all of my winter items that I won't be getting into until next year. I did pull out my summer clothes to see if there was any loose shirts I thought I could wear. I found two or three summer tops and that was it. Of course I may get back into my normal summer clothes by August so I kept a few shorts and things out (cross my fingers I go right back to pre-preggo size). I did have fun getting all my flip flops and shoes out though. One thing I can still wear! I go back to the doctor Wednesday so I'm curious to see how much weight I've gained now. According to my home scale I think I'm making up for not gaining last month.

Lunch time! :)