I felt something!

Yesterday (Monday, September 29th), at 17 1/2 weeks, I think I felt our baby! I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was actually what I suspected, but while sitting at my desk at work in the afternoon, I felt this sensation in my tummy that was unusual. I just sat there and tuned into it, still unsure of what it was. Then last night as we were in bed, I felt it again. The same thing. This has to be it. This has to be what our baby feels like inside of me!

Late tonight as Jeff and I were unwinding together on the sofa, I told him I felt it again. Even though we knew it probably wasn't possible, he had his hands on my belly trying to feel something, trying to experience any of it for himself. No such luck and now he is jealous. Just the warmth of his hands even dulled what I could feel. Hopefully it won't be that much longer and he'll be able to get a taste too.

I struggled thinking about what to write on a post because I didn't know how to describe it. I've heard the first movements that women have of their babies described as flutters, butterflies, nervousness, even like a tiny fish swimming around. I suppose it was a little of all of that, but different. It was subtle. If I wasn't paying close enough attention, I could hardly feel it. But without a doubt, it was there. There were twinges and tingles and...well, I don't know what! See, I don't really know how to put it into words, but I felt our baby and a notable sensation of love inside of me.

Daddy in training

Jeff received some parenting practice this past Sunday as we had a house full, including some of the shorties, to watch the first win of the season for the Vikings. He's a natural! Here are a couple shots with Viking cheerleader, Nora Swartzbaugh, and all-around best spectator, Abby Carr.

16 weeks: Photos

Can anyone say Victoria's Secret circa early 2000s? Yep, I still have it and truth be told, I still kind of fancy this little number you're about to be subject to. I think I have an aqua one too somewhere. What can I say? I had just gotten home from a wedding and out of a dress and heels (these were taken Saturday night). I was hot. It was comfy. Then we realized it showed the belly better than what I had on in my previous photo shoot, so the hubby snapped a few shots. I'm sorry, but you at least have to chuckle.

Tight pants and belly shots

I'm almost there. It is approaching time for a bigger pants size.

My Bella Band, a lovely little contraption to help me wear my pants and jeans without buttoning them (and sometimes without zipping them up all the way too!), has been a lifesaver. Even still, it looks like it may be time to go up a size or get myself into some maternity styles fairly soon. It's not a matter of not being able to get my regular ones on, because they will go on. But by the end of the day, I start to feel like a rolled up sardine that just wants to be let out of that constricting tin can. Wearing tighter jeans isn't necessarily new on the scene, but now that there is a baby inside of me, I have started to wonder on those occasions---if it's not so comfortable for me, how can it be comfortable for him or her? So, the time...it is a-comin'...

Not only is it nearing impossible to join the left and right sides of my pants together in perfect harmony, my belly button has started to pop! What's up with that? I didn't know this happened yet, but for the last couple of weeks, there has been no mistaking it. The weirdest part is that it hasn't happened all the way, so my usual innie has turned into a half innie and a half outie! It's kind of funny and a tad strange to me, so I couldn't resist posting some photos. Plus, it's much easier to post my bloated belly photos when no one (in good conscience) can (or should) scrutinize me too much since there's a fabulous reason for it!





We also had our 16 week doctor appointment yesterday (Friday, September 19th) and we were able hear our baby's heartbeat. It was so cool! Since our doctor snuck us in for an ultrasound during our last appointment at 11 weeks, we never got to actually hear the heartbeat that time. The fact that life grows inside of me is completely amazing, but my awe is compounded when witnessing the sounds and sights of it. If I wasn't faced with the knowledge that so many have gone through this before me, I would say it was simply unbelievable. Even knowing that, it still is.

Decisions, decisions

I feel like there are so many questions, so many things to decide, even right after the baby news comes. Well, probably because there are. Although you can usually stall a little until a few months go by and then you realize, HOLY COW…we’ve got some decisions to make! I would be lying if I said that we had even a fraction of much of it figured out, but I thought I would post a few notes about some of the decisions Jeff and I have made thus far.

Genetic testing
Our next doctor appointment is this Friday (Friday, September 19th). It is during this appointment that we have the option of testing my blood to see if there is an increased probability that our baby will suffer from some well known birth defects (neural tube defects such as Spina Bifida and chromosome abnormalities such as Down syndrome are examples). This is called a Quad Screen. It’s so difficult to even think about anything being wrong with our baby, but there were several factors aiding in our decision to forgo the test. We decided that if the worst case scenario happened and all indications showed a high probability that something was wrong with our baby, we would still continue with the pregnancy regardless. Also as I mentioned, the test gives a probability and not a definite answer regarding such aliments, so we thought it would be best not to worry for the next several months based on a probability. In addition, if the results of the blood test warranted further testing, those next steps could cause harm to the baby. Albeit rare, that was a notion too scary for us. There is so much worry as it is, and we will worry until our baby is born whether he or she is healthy. Then, we’ll have every day thereafter to worry if everything is OK with him or her, so we are taking what anxiety we can out of the equation. I know that some like to have the test done because there can be a lot to be said for being as prepared as possible, and that makes complete sense too. However, for us it made more sense to go the other route and it’s a decision we feel good about.


Hospital delivery
So this next one may leave some of you thinking we have lost it a little, but let me explain. Even though we live just a couple miles from a beautiful hospital, we have opted for driving into the heart of the city to have our baby. This could mean a 30-40 minute commute, on a good day. Needless to say we’re hoping that a March snowstorm doesn’t make for further delay! There are two hospitals my doctor will deliver at and even though the other one is closer, we have made the decision to deliver at Abbott. Not only is it conveniently located adjacent to Children’s Hospital should something go awry, it’s a great hospital. Plus, it’s my doctor’s preferred hospital and since I would love for him to deliver our baby even though it’s not always the case, the chances are better by going to Abbott. I’ve known several people who have delivered their babies at this hospital and who’ve had wonderful experiences. And although it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing place out there, it’s top notch. At a mere one and a half pounds of a baby upon birth, I watched in awe the miracle of my friend’s baby boy’s life surviving before my eyes at Abbott and Children’s. Since then I have had a special place in my heart for those hospitals. Now, if my water breaks at 3:00 in the morning with the wrath of one of our lovely state’s winters in full effect, I may be less than thrilled with the long haul to the hospital. And if my husband’s leg has to be amputated because of how hard I’m squeezing it on the way, I may feel pretty badly (as I’m screaming at him to hurry his turtle paced driving butt up while reminding him without using my quiet voice that he helped to get us into this mess in the first place and everything from here on out is entirely his fault), but our decision stands.


Pink or blue
The question of whether or not we are going to find out if we're having a boy or a girl has come up a lot lately and is probably what people are wondering about the most. We decided fairly early on that we would like to be surprised, so unless there is something that “stands out” on an ultrasound that gives it away accidentally, we’ll be waiting for the indication of sugar and spice and everything nice or snips and snails and puppy dogs tails until the delivery room. There are definite advantages of knowing the sex of the baby right off the bat, but for us, the aspect of the surprise really excites us. It has been fun speculating in our own minds already. Still, the anticipation is slightly agonizing. I think Jeff is even more ready for the wait to meet our baby to be over than I am, and we’re not even half way there yet!


Baby names
Even before we found out I was pregnant we had some baby names on the list. The list has grown now and needs some narrowing down, not to mention, we could even use some more options (feel free to comment on any of your favorites you don’t want to use for yourselves!). We’re pretty set on a few of them, maybe one or two in particular, but are still in discussions. Don’t you all love the vagueness? Since we’ve learned a few lessons about sharing some names that haven’t gone over as well as we may have hoped (and that was just with our parents!), we don’t know if we’ll be sharing the final list. I know, I know, it’s completely annoying. We’ll probably give a few choices to keep the hungry at bay, but I guess we’d rather have you tell us you hate our baby’s name once he or she is born. Of course, I’m sure we’ll equate that to the fact that you hate our baby, but that’s on you. :)


Here are a few girl names one or both of us like, but that we have most likely ruled out for now (or at least for this baby): Sophia, Bianca, Lola and my favorite name if I married an Italian, Giovanna. Well yes, I married that Italian man of mine, but with a last name like ours, it’s not quite working for us! So, a little reluctantly, I have moved on. For boy names, Jeff wasn’t a fan of my Nash suggestion (and now I’m fine with it going away too) and we have pretty much decided that Jeff’s suggestion of Cristiano probably won’t make the cut. If I could guarantee that he wouldn’t be called Cris, I’d be all for it. But Cris with no “h” isn’t as desirable for us. Landon was an option, but that one is off now too. Bundlebreeder’s name if he wouldn’t have been a Jeff, Rocco, has also fallen off the list. The good news is that with all of these off of our list, we have names we agree on that we like more than any of those mentioned for our kiddo, so we’re in pretty good shape. Well, we’re in decent shape. Great shape would be that we have fully decided on our top two choices and that is not the case. And my gosh, is it customary for kids in our country to have middle names too? Yeah, we’re so not there yet.

As for decorating the nursery,


childproofing the house,


choosing a daycare (or deciding on my work status post-baby altogether)


and a plethora of other decisions and preparations needing to be made, we still have a quite a bit to figure out. We did get a new vehicle for baby (and for mama!), so we've been enjoying having an SUV again. We will be especially happy about it once the snow starts falling around here, which could be right around the corner with how it's been feeling sometimes. Ugh.


If there are burning questions anyone would like to ask, please feel free to ask away. There will be so many new things to think about as each day comes, but we are on our way to making a few decisions...slowly but surely.

Our baby at 15 weeks

At 15 weeks, the baby is about the size of an apple.

The 2nd trimester has begun

Yes, of course I asked the bundlebreeder if he had something special planned for the evening, due to the big milestone and all. I guess the laughter said it all. Well listen here...I'm celebrating and since these days that means sans dirty martini, I am celebrating with some other form of deliciousness. I hope Jeff isn't thinking he's coming home with the intentions of eating some ultra healthy dinner because it's not happening. Not in this house. Not tonight. I'm celebrating! That may even mean a special dessert and with the nutritious breakfast I had, three kinds of vitamins, the light lunch and the apple, that dessert better be decadent. Well, the apple is still sitting on my desk at work (I did look at it a lot), but I'll try to eat one at home tonight just to make good on this post. Happy second trimester to me (hang on a sec while I blow out my candles)!

I do have to say that my husband is very romantic, but still, it would have been kind of sweet to get some type of a token on this day. A blue ribbon of sorts, perhaps. Maybe in the form of a new pair of maternity jeans or something (I'm not in them yet, but with my expanding waistline, I think it'll be fairly soon). OK, I'll quit now because I'll probably make him feel really badly and I don't want my husband to get his man panties in a bunch. Besides, a gift out of guilt doesn't have quite the same appeal (although it's still kind of nice). I'm sure he has something huge planned for trimester three anyway.

Truth be told, I get my fair share of tokens so I know I can only groan in jest. And it really is all in jest. I just have to have a little fun with it because I am easily excitable and making it to the second trimester without any major hitches has me overjoyed. No, I don't need a token to keep the smile on my face. It's there without prompting. Naturally. Hold up! This just in: Jeff is bringing home Mexican for dinner and if that isn't love, well what would you call it? I call it love, and a celebration. I knew he wouldn't let me down. See, I'm easy to please! Throw some enchiladas in front of my face and watch me giggle like a giddy schoolgirl on a good hair day.

Speaking of panties [not because I mentioned a schoolgirl sillies (you should all be ashamed of yourselves), but because I really did say panties a while back]...there are some reports that with the second trimester brings a libido boost. So if it seems we answer our doorbell less, that doesn't necessarily mean we didn't hear it, as often is the case at our house. Just as a warning, it's probably best not to go around peering in any of our windows. Jeff's farmer tan from being out on the golf course all summer can be blinding. Baum, chicka, baum, baum...