33 Weeks

Only 7 more weeks to go! This week has been a bit exciting. A few days ago, our newest niece came into the world. During that time, I got a chance to babysit her older sister and learned a lot of things about parenting.

As a side note, I currently have a cold. Luckily, I've been able to sit on my butt all day and rest, except for one day when I had to hold 4 hour-long sessions at a professional development for science teachers. The next day, I pretty much lost my voice. Other than that, chicken soup and smoothies have been my savior. In fact, today I was able to attend zumba and go to the grocery store. I think I should be in tip top shape by this weekend.

As far as symptoms go, I'm feeling a bit less tired, but lots more hot flashes. They come and go. My head just suddenly gets super hot and my face gets really flushed.

Our little honey bun is currently moving, kicking and elbowing a lot. I feel like it's probably going to peak this week and then settle down in a few days because he is now growing faster than after. Soon, he won't have much room to move around. I can't imagine how it would feel if you can't move for a few weeks.

Tomorrow, we finally get to attend our cloth diapering class. It got canceled a few weeks ago because the instructor was sick. I can't wait to see all the different options so we can start ordering some diapers before our little one comes home. I'm a bit apprehensive about using cloth diapers, but with the help of a modern high efficiency washer and dryer, I can lessen my carbon footprint in this world. I may even have a special post about cloth diapering.

32 Weeks

Since my last post, I haven't had much changes in any pregnancy symptoms; however, Steve seems to have picked up a few. 1) He's been hungrier and have been craving snacks during the day (we have never been really big snackers) 2) A few days ago, he was a so tired that he needed to take a nap in the afternoon. (this was not on a biking day) 3) Wednesday, he felt nauseous in the morning. I don't think I will post a picture this week because I feel like I haven't changed much, but I will definitely post a picture next week.

Today I met my newest niece. Her name is Hazel and she was born last night. As I watched her sleep and nuzzle next to her mom, I couldn't help but think that in less than 8 weeks, we would have our very own baby to hold and love. It really hasn't sunk in yet, but we're waiting for the moment when we are like, "Woah, we're having a baby." Perhaps this will strike us in a few days, but I think more likely, we won't feel it until we meet the little one. But when that day comes, I'm sure that God will give us the strength and confidence to raise our honey bun to become an amazing young man.

BTW, it turns out that Steve had food poisoning. Basically, a 24 hour bug. I'm still trying to figure out how he ended up with it and I didn't.

31 Weeks

Pregnancy at 31 weeks is still not bad. I'm still mobile, I can still zumba, swim, bike ride, lift weights and get around fairly well. The only new symptom that has showed up are hot flashes. They only happen when I'm napping or sleeping. Suddenly, I'll wake up and my head is steaming hot. Luckily, it goes away in a few minutes, but it's a bit annoying. And my appetite is finally getting better. I feel like I'm hungry more often, so I eat frequent, small meals. A new thing that I've added to my snack repertoire are kale chips. They are incredibly easy to make and very yummy. I take a half a bunch of kale, tear off the leaves, drizzle some garlic infused olive oil over them and gently toss. Then, I bake them in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and eat. They are quite delicious.

All throughout the first 2 trimesters, I've been doing really well with controlling my sweets intake. However, I feel that lately, I've been indulging more than I should be. I really need to work on that this week.

Apparently our Honey Bun is now 16 inches long and about 3.3 pounds. He's moving a lot more and the movements are more like twists and turns instead of short kicks. He is most active in the morning and in the evening. I can feel it when he hiccups and it's really cute. I'm not sure if I'm getting any braxton hicks contractions yet, but if I am, they are not painful. I can sometimes feel my stomach turn hard, but I don't know if it's a contraction, or if it's just gas. =P

This Friday, I'm going to go to a cloth diapering class to learn more about this whole system. Hopefully, but this weekend, I will have decided on a system and can start to order some diapers so they will get in on time. 

My friend Kathleen (a fellow sheep lover) got our Honey Bun some presents. They are soooo cute. Check them out:

Sheep Booties! 

Well, I think I'm happy with the nursery. All the main components are up. Here's a sneak peak.

I finally got the valence to stay up. Thanks to Melissa who suggested 3M command strips.

That's it for now. 9 Weeks to go! 

Week 30 ...10 More Weeks to Go

 Nursery Update: I've used up the last of the elephant fabric along with some styrofoam to make a window valence. I really like how it turned out, but I need to figure out another way of attaching it to the wall. I originally used some velcro sticky dots, but those were not strong enough. I'd love any suggestions.

We finally put up the floating shelves that we got from the pottery barn and have found that they don't sit flat. It's a pretty fancy system where you hang up a metal bar and then you just hang the shelf off the bar. Well, when we put the shelf on the bar, the shelf droops down, so if you put anything against the wall, it will start to slide towards you. Actually, the slope isn't that bad, but I'd like flat shelves.

Other than that, I think I like how the nursery is turning out, although, I feel it's a bit cluttered. Steve says once I clean up the trash, packaging and put up the toys, it will look better. I hope so. 

When I see people, usually the first thing they ask me is "How are you feeling?" and "Do you have any weird cravings?" I have been telling them that I feel fine, but I get tired in the afternoons and that I don't really have any cravings. Well, I recently realized that I may have cravings for papaya. I've been buying papayas every time I see a ripe one at the store. I've been freezing them and making papaya milkshakes with them, which are very yummy. However, I've always liked papaya milkshakes (It's a Taiwanese thing) so I don't know if I am craving them, or just been buying them because it's summer and papaya season.

Week 29

Our Nursery is about 80% complete! We got the final big piece of furniture in today and I absolutely love it! Look forward to many hours rocking with our little one.

I also finally put up all the letters on the wall. Took awhile, but I think it looks pretty good.

These letters are sitting above the changing table. And here is the changing table with the baskets that I made out of the cardboard box from the car seat.

And...not sure what to do with these guys yet. I tried putting the mirror up above the fish tank today, but it just did not look right.

I've pretty much gotten all that I wanted to do before I got too big completed. I'm pretty happy with the results. Now, just to keep it not cluttered.

Hello Third Trimester!

Hello 3rd Trimester!

 This is a picture taken for our 3rd anniversary.



It's the final home stretch. Nursery update: I've been working on the alphabet wall. I just have 1 more letter to do. Here's what it looks like so far:

I spent about $15 on a few of the letters and the rest, I used toilet paper rolls, styrofoam, and cardboard.  I am quite pleased with the final result and can't wait to see them all hung up in the room.

We went ahead and ordered a glider on-line. It should come in this week. Once the chair is in the room, I can then put the other decorations up. So excited! 

I don't think I've mentioned this in my previous posts, but Steve and I are going to try to go the all natural route when it comes to birth. My biggest fear is pain and tearing, but as I read about other women's experience with the euphoria that comes with natural birth, I'm starting to overcome that fear and I am mentally preparing myself for the "sensations" that will come with birth. For extra encouragement, I'm reading Ina May Gaskin's guide to childbirth and I am eager to see what our birth experience will be like.

Our last check up went well. The midwife mentioned that I have pretty strong abdominal muscles. This made me feel great because it made all of those planks and crunches that I did prior to pregnancy worth it. Also, I drank the orange soda like drink for the gestational diabetes test and felt a bit funny afterwards, but I don't think I have it. The phlebotomist told me that she would call me if anything came back negative by Monday, so I guess no news is good news. However,  I'm still trying to stay with a low (processed) sugar diet. I'm eating plenty of fruits, but am only limiting myself to a little bit of dessert once in awhile. It's sooo hard.

One of my favorite snacks is a peanut butter banana milkshake. It's made with 1 frozen banana, 1/2 large glass of milk and 2 tablespoons of PB2. I put all this stuff in a blender and blend it together. It's the best protein, dairy, sugar fix ever! Oh, PB2 is this product that my friend Christina recommended to me. It's basically powdered peanut butter. It's got 85% less fat than ordinary PB and barely any sugar. By itself , it's ok, but in the milkshake, I can barely tell the difference. Here's a picture of the product, if you want to try it out.

Belly undulations and sewing

Today marks week 27 of pregnancy. I only have one more week left of the second trimester, and I hear things only go down hill from here. Well, I haven't posted in about 3 weeks because I've been out of town. I spent about 2 weeks in Dallas for a training and to visit my family and then another week was spent in Chicago with Steve's side of the family. Steve's mom threw us a beautiful shower and Aunt Barb made the best cake.

 White chocolate and black raspberry cake! Best. Cake. Ever!

 On our last day in Chicago, we went on an architecture cruise. It was nice, but the sun was hot. Our honey bun gets pretty active in the heat. This week I feel him kick all the time. I can also see him moving through the belly too. Unfortunately, sometimes honey bun sticks a foot or an arm near my lungs, making it a bit uncomfortable to bend over or breathe.

After returning home from being away for 3 weeks, I was itching to continue with nursery decorations. Today, I tackled the crib skirt and made 3 throw pillow covers.

 This is the mirror that I got from goodwill. I sanded it down and painted it a bright yellow. I will post pictures of it when it's finished and hung in the nursery.