Thank You God (or Thomas Hancock)...

...for elastic!



I finally gave in and bought a few pairs of maternity jeans (not those full belly ones but the ones with the elastic band at the top) and I could not be happier. Even though after a few days, I still find myself out of habit checking to make sure my zipper isn't down. Then I remember maternity pants don't have a zipper (very convenient for the ever forgetful mommies to be out there!)... I also wonder what the long term affects of this will be when I am back in my pre-preggers clothes. Will I get out of the habit of pulling up my zipper after using the bathroom and end up walking around exposed all the time? (someone please tell me if I do...)

I'm finding anything in my wardrobe that does not have some stretch to it, is not going to be worn for a long long time. Even though I can still fit most of my clothes, the comfort factor has become uber important.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

So looking at baby gear is so much fun that I have actually considered starting my own line. Jason is convinced it's where all the money is and I must agree. :)

Even though I highly doubt I will follow through on any dream to design my own baby gear any time soon, I am having a great time looking at all the things out there for our little one. I have come across a few different companies that I really am liking and wanted to share those with you. While these companies have their own website I actually discovered most of them when browsing Amazon.com.

Bella Tunno (bellatunno.com)- not only does this company offer great whimsical styles in a variety of products, but part of the proceeds support a drug and alcohol abuse program in memory of Matt Tunno, late brother of the founder of Bella Tunno.
After looking into the Bella Tunno websiteI've discovered they not only have fun looking bibs and burpies, they have great pacifier clips, art smocks and head bands. They offer a unique "Designer Diners" line (wipe-clean place mat on one side and a reusable chalk mat on the other). They've also designed the fashionable and functional "Diaper Ditty" (a clutch that holds wipes and 2-3 diapers, great for the car or easily added to a purse to create an instant diaper bag).

Aden and Anais (adenandanais.com)- founded by a women looking for the muslin swaddling blankets she was familiar with growing up in Australia. The muslin material is durable and breathable and great for swaddling babies in warmer months. The lighter material still keeps baby warm but eases the worry of overheating. The designs from this company are classic and, of course, stylish. They also offer a warmer line of organic cotton swaddling blankets for colder months as well as great sleep sacks, bibs, towels and washcloths, and blankets.

Their website also offers some background and story on swaddling babies and even a section on how-to: http://adenandanais.com/learn/howtoswaddle.aspx

CloudB (cloudb.com)- offering a variety of products aimed at helping baby sleep better. I first came across their twilight turtle light. This plush turtles' shell doubles as a night light and cast constellations on the walls. I always have had a thing about turtles (probably because my grandmother seemed to also like them and I have memories of her giving me turtle gifts as a child). After looking for other products from this company I was glad to find they also have sound soothers that mimic sounds like a mother's heartbeat (some studies show this soothes baby and allows better sleep). Like most of these companies they also offer some of the normal items like blankets and sleep sacks but most of their items are specifically geared at sleep. Their IParenting Media Award winning sleep sack, the "LullaBag", is now offered in an eco-friendly version, "Bamboo LullaBag." While I'm not a fan of the bulk of the original version, the new Bamboo version looks less bulk and also I like the newer version's neckline and closure better.

More faves to come soon...

2nd Doc visit

We had our second visit to the doctor today that was quite a bit more eventful than the first. We finally got to hear the heartbeat! It was such a relief to hear and even though I have known there's a baby growing in there, hearing the heartbeat made it much more real! We also were finally were able to run my labs and the H1N1 vaccine was in. So after hearing that little "whoosh whoosh whoosh" and getting injected, we headed over to the lab where I handed over enough blood for 7 viles and of course after two hours without a bathroom break, I had no problem with the urine sample.

(btw- Even thoug my sister was upset by this and requested that I demand we have one sooner, we won't have an ultrasound until 18-22 weeks. We just don't have any reason to have one soon and it's the norm for my doc's office so even though it would be super exciting to see our Bean now, we have to wait...)

rambling and random thoughts

Woke up this morning to fresh snow on the ground. I've been watching Reily (our 5 year old Golden Retriever mix) run around the back yard biting piles of snow and playing with the shrubs. (yes, he actually was biting a branch off the bush and then prancing/jumping away from it before going back in for more. Poor bush didn't know what was going on but Reily thought it was his play buddy).
I also woke up this morning with an uncontrollable urge to bake (whether that can be attributed to the pregnancy or just the weather, I'm not sure). So I took a stab at home made biscuits for the first time. They actually turned out pretty good. I also must just be getting an appetite back because I decided to also make turkey sausage patties, eggs, and a strawberry peanut butter protein shake. I haven't had much of an appetite this past week. I think it's just from constantly thinking about what I'm eating and how much I'm eating and trying to get enough of this and enough of that and I was just getting tired of opening the fridge and trying to decide what to make.

I've also not been sleeping very well (not horrible either)... but I find myself having a hard time turning my brain off and getting comfortable at night. As soon as I close my eyes I start having these detailed thoughts/ half dreams about the most random of things. Last night I only was asleep for an hour before waking up and having to use the bathroom. Then when I layed back down I couldn't get comfortable enough to fall back asleep and after about 20 minutes my stomach decided it was starving. So I found myself up at 1:00 in the morning staring into the cupboards and finally settling on tortilla chips.

Reily has been acting a bit more needy lately. He's been consistantly having bad dreams and a couple nights ago he was crying so bad that I woke him and both Jason and I immediately called him up on the bed to calm him down. We were both worried about him being upset and laying there made me think about days in our not so distant future when it will be our kid climbing into bed with us because they are scared.
Last night Reily was also having trouble sleeping apparently (no bad dreams this time though). Jason found him sneaking some Zzz's on the couch. He never sleeps on the furniture that we know of but Jason went downstairs to turn off a light, Reily was surprised and knew he was caught in the act and slowly slid off the couch onto the floor (as if he thought if didn't make any sudden movements then Jason wouldn't notice the crime). When I came down for my late night tortilla chip break, I found Reily stretched out on the kitchen floor in his "frog pose" (legs stretched back to the sides and behind him). All strange behavior for him I think. I knew he walked around the house once or twice a night but he's always asleep next to the bed when I wake up. Does he wander around everynight and have these little adventures that we don't know about?

Bump Watch 09

On more than one occasion today I caught Jason looking at my belly and finally I confronted him to which he replied "you look...." "pregnant or fat?" "you said it?" "nice." (We laughed). Apparently my tummy is a little more obvious all of a sudden today than before.

We also bought a Wii Fit video game today that after weighing me and doing a balance test told me that my center of balance is a little off and that according to my BMI I'm overweight. These results obviously are not fair nor are they taking into account that I'm pregnant! duh! :) I also caught Jasons staring again and then he told me "you really do look pregnant," to which I replied, "I really am"

the name game

We have a long time to finalize the right name for our little bean but we have been trying to come up with some options. A few friends of mine decided Gertrude would be a fantastic choice in the interim. I don't know how I feel about even pretending that we would name our child Gerty.

We have a few girl options that we seem to like but it's been rather difficult to find any boy names. After looking through some name lists and joking about Aziz or Zanebono, we decided we could just hope that it's a girl. We both seem to have that feeling... but our feeling only has a 48% chance of being correct so I'm all about having some options for both genders. I know it will come to us but anyone with suggestions? I'm opening that can of worms.

isn't it too early for cravings? I'm going with just overly hungry

Today was a busy hectic day and I'll openly admit that I didn't eat much this morning, or this afternoon for that matter, and by the time this evening started sneaking up on us I was on the verge of a full blown tantrum from the low blood-sugar levels. I also couldn't bring myself to eat anything in the house because I desperately wanted a beef hotdog with sweet relish and nothing else would do. (Why? I don't know. I maybe eat two hot dogs over an entire year usually.)
BUT even after standing in front of the fridge for five minutes I could not bring myself to eat the chicken breast I was already defrosting, or even the polish sausages that we already had. So unable to move past it, completely exhausted and on the verge of being sick from hunger I got in the car and went to the grocery store.
By the time I got home and put the groceries away, it was the best damn hot dog I have ever had in my entire life.