Babies Need So Much Stuff



What, you can't keep up?



My very best friend on earth came to visit this weekend with her 2 year old daughter in tow. We decided to take her to see one of our favorite movies, Beauty and the Beast. Good thing we had both seen it a million times because she refused to sit in her seat. I was exhausted just watching her and I got a glimpse of my future!

I'm so lucky that my BFF just had a baby boy in July and decided she is done having kids! She brought me a swing, a bouncy thingy, a bassinet, and a bunch of boy clothes. Seriously, babies need a lot of stuff and it all cost $100. A little wash & clean and she just saved me over $300!

 

What, real mean rock Pink!



She also helped me with the gift registry, what we do and don't need. There are so many things I didn't even think about! I feel like all our extra $ is going to go toward baby stuff for awhile. I know there only a few things the baby truly needs to survive, but I think the extras will help us survive!







Friday Night

Friday nights in your 20's

Formal Dresses & Date Nights

Friday nights in your 30's

PJ's and a Movie!

What a difference 10 years makes!

21 Weeks

How far along: 21 Weeks

Total weight gain: 9.5 pounds total (none this week).


Food craving: Greek! Hummus & Feta Cheese…yummy. I’ve been trying really hard to get in more veggies so I made some cucumber, avocado, hummus, & feta sandwiches on flatbread and spinach salad with feta and homemade balsamic dressing. I loved hummus before getting pregnant, but due to the strong smell I wasn’t able to eat it during the first trimester.

Food aversions: Just one, much to my husband’s dismay…chicken poofs! It’s basically chicken & cream cheese baked in a crescent roll, but for some reason I cannot stomach it right now.

Maternity Clothes: Oh Yeah!

What I’m looking forward to: Painting the nursery and getting the furniture delivered! I think I’ll feel more prepared once that is in place.

Milestones: I’ve felt lots of little movements this week! I’m guessing 50% is just digestion (especially since I’ve increased the veggie intake), but some of its likely Ward Jr letting his presence be known. Sunday I woke up in the middle of the night because I was hot and needed to adjust the blankets. Ward Jr was NOT happy about it and flipped around for a good 3 minutes “getting comfortable.” Still such a weird sensation!

Best moment this week: Celebrating Ward’s Birthday and getting a three day weekend! It was a pretty low key old people birthday. We went out to lunch with his team from work and I brought some awesome cupcakes from a local bakery. His team is mostly guys and they got him a baby doll that cries and wets. They even did some fancy Photoshop and all wore buttons with this pic on it.

The three day weekend was wonderful and I got lots of stuff done around the house. I finally feel like I have somewhat normal levels of energy. I didn’t even take a nap the whole weekend (which is an accomplishment for me even when I’m not pregnant).

Downgrading the Dogs...

...and practicing our stern parent faces!

Anyone who know us, or even looks at the pictures on our Facebook pages, knows that we already have two babies, Fritz and Madison. They get our undivided attention and are spoiled rotten!

I've had Fritz since we both looked like this!

Fritz is an easy going old man, but his sister is a hot mess. She is furiously happy 99% of the time, but just can't calm herself down enough to not get into constant trouble and need constant supervision.

We know with Ward Jr on the way, there are going to be some major changes and the pups will no longer be #1. We are slowly trying to get them used to less attention so there isn't a major shock when we get home from the hospital. I don't want them to act out or 'blame' the baby.

The first big challenge is mealtime. They both eat medicated food and if they eat each others it would be bad. We usually spend breakfast and dinner policing the bowls and listening to them growl and bark at each other. This is not going to fly! It already drives me crazy. So we decided to start feeding Madison in her crate to separate them and help keep the peace (and so we can focus on our own meals and not them).

Madison is NOT happy about this development! The first few days she refused to eat. Once the crate door was open she would scarf down her food. We were worried about her eating enough so we took turns standing in front of her crate with the door open making sure she stayed in there while eating. Again, this was not going to work in the long term and completely defeated the purpose.

So, I tried bribing her with a little bit of canned dog food mixed in her bowl. This worked phenomenally well. When there was canned food in her bowl she could be eating on the roof in the snow storm and she wouldn't notice. Mmmm canned food!! We gradually reduced the bribe amount and eventually stopped...and so did our progress.

We've had to put on our best stern parent faces and take the food away after a certain period of time, even if she doesn't eat anything. IT BREAKS OUR HEARTS to do this (she has perfected the sad puppy eyes look)! She's started getting a little better and will eat her food in her crate as long as Ward and I are sitting at the table eating and nothing else is going on. I worry about her, but at the same time once Ward Jr gets here I won't be able to monitor her every bite. I think this has been harder on us than it has her.

Who me?!?

Next up is teaching Madison not to jump in our laps and demand all the attention when we are holding the baby. Oy!



20 Weeks - Half Way There!

How far along: 20 Weeks

Total weight gain: 9.5 pounds total (1lb this week).

Food craving: Pasta & Fried Rice!  I'm trying to eat more veggies. Apparently Ward Jr now has taste buds and will be more receptive to foods that he was exposed to in the womb. I really *want* to like broccoli, I just don't know if it's gonna happen.

Food aversions: Luckily, none.

Maternity Clothes: Oh Yeah!

What I’m looking forward to:  Feeling more fetal movement. We think we felt the first outside kicks this week and it was wonderful. I'm ready for them to be more frequent and noticeable.

Milestones: 20 WEEKS!  We are half way there and just a few more weeks until Ward Jr is considered viable.

Best moment this week: The ultrasound and getting to see Ward Jr move around on screen.  He's getting big and his whole body won't fit in one picture anymore. Here are a few of the good ones from today's "photo shoot." He weighs 13oz (13 is a very lucky number for the Dunhams!).

This is the best profile shot. We didn't really get any of the body this time.

Smell my feet!

He wanted us to know that he is still 100% BOY!

18/19+ Weeks

18 Weeks

19+ Weeks

How far along: 19 Weeks (the second picture was taken a few days after I normally take them so it's 19+)

Total weight gain: 8.5 pounds total (stopped weighing weekly during the holidays so I don't know how much this week).

Food craving:  Everything! My appetite has kicked in overdrive.

Food aversions: Luckily, none.

Maternity Clothes: YEP! I made the cross over and I'm never going back.  I got some maternity pants for Christmas and did some post Christmas shopping for more. I never thought I would be so happy to have an elastic waistband!

What I’m looking forward to:  20 week ultrasound on Monday. This is another big one where they measure all the organs and make sure everything looks like it is deveoping on schedule. I can't wait to see our boy again!

Milestones: We started talking names and have narrowed it down to a "short list."  
I'm reluctant to share our choices because I don't want the "I knew a X once and he was such an ass."

Best moment this week: Feeling a little more movement from Ward Jr. (from the inside only) and buying the nursery furniture. We bought a crib, double dresser, and glider! I also bought some bedding and I can't wait to start putting it all together.

We had a good, uneventful New Years which was exactly what the doctor ordered (not literally). Thanksgiving was supposed to be relaxing, but I ended up doing way too much and I felt sick in the downtime that I did have.  I knew Christmas was going to feel crazy and it lived up to expectations. Luckily last week at work was slow and then we had a good three day weekend for New Years. I got some stuff done around the house that I have been trying to get done for awhile and got some sleep.