Back from Hiatus

Whew!  Time has flown by!  It flies by every day, month, year and yet I'm still not used to that.  The holidays are almost over (our last Christmas celebration is this weekend) and New Years is in two days!  I'm going to really try to keep everyone up to date on what's going on in the Wolf household by blogging more.  If I can't keep it up now with the craziness of work, travel, holidays, and errands - then there's no hope of keeping it up when you add peanut into the mix.  And lil' peanut is scheduled to rock our world in just 10 weeks!  70 days!

So here's our latest update...and our 100th post!

How Far Along?  30 Weeks!  Crazy!  It doesn't seem like we're this far along already.  This is our last week where we can say we have "double digits" left.  After this, it's 9 weeks, 8 weeks, etc and that sounds so much closer!

Weight Gain?  Weight is on track..."great" according to Dr. C.  Still no stretch marks!!!

Maternity Clothes?  100%

Symptoms?  Still stuffy, I blow my nose multiple times a day.  I can tell my face is a little fuller but no puffiness or bloating with my feet or hands.  So it's really nice I can still wear my heels to work and wear my wedding ring.  I am waking more during the night, not sure why.  I'm not running to the bathroom more than once or twice a night.  For example, tonight I was so exhausted I'm surprised I could walk myself to bed at 9:30pm.  But up at 3am and wasn't ever able to fall back asleep (should make for an interesting day)

Movement?  Yes!  You can tell Peanut is getting bigger because I don't feel as many jabs or sudden movements out of nowhere.  Instead it's like he's stretching and trying to make more room.  Still big movements, but not fast and quick.  He is waging war with my right side of ribs.  Everyday for the past week he has tried to move them out of his way.  Yesterday, he tried so hard it made me wince and gasp.  I had someone in my office at work at the time and he looked alarmed and asked if everything was ok.  I just had to laugh, "someone thinks I should have a few less ribs than what I do"

Sleep?  I love sleep, so I always wish I could get some more.  But I'm fine with my sleep patterns right now.  In a couple months, I'll have to adjust to a different sleep schedule anyways.  I find it comforting that this is my new normal....is that weird?

Food Cravings?  Still sweets.  Cookies, ice cream, etc.  But I've always had a sweet tooth.

Best Moment of the Week?  Hmmmm....too many to choose from.

What I Miss?  Tim, myself, and the boys were in Nebraska visiting my family over Christmas. We had to come back on Sunday.  I miss my family.

What I'm Looking Forward To?  Life calming down after the hustle and bustle of the holidays.  Then Tim and I can finish the nursery.  Things have completely stalled since November.  We are starting to pick the pace back up though.  With all the SIDS research, we're putting a fan in the nursery.  Tim got it up the day after it was delivered...

I ordered a rocker/glider at BRU yesterday but am having reservations about it.  Here is what has been ordered...

This is what I was wanting...
 

Both are rockers/gliders that recline, which was big for us.  Plus they look as if we'll be able to use them after the nursery too.  The difference, the cream one swivels and is cream.  I'm worried the chocolate colored one will make the nursery too dark.  But with my coupon, I couldn't justify cream and swivel for an additional $150.  Maybe I should just rethink how to paint the nursery and lighten the room up that way?

Weekly Wisdom?  Pregnancy doesn't make you wise every week :)

Appointments?  Another check up in 2 more weeks

Baby Size?  Around 16 inches long and about 3 pounds!

The Greatest Husband Ever

I'm not sure if all pregnant, or wanting to be pregnant, ladies add this to their wish list - but I know I had it on mine.  (insert bashful, shy face here)

You always see tons of pregnant ladies when you're not pregnant.  They seem to be everywhere!  And you see all kinds of ways to carry your pregnancy.  Some have the cute little basketball babies, where it looks like the lady is just hiding a basketball under her shirt.  You see the woman who carries it in her belly...and her behind.  You see the lady whose face plumps up so much you barely recognize her when she comes back from maternity leave.  And so on, and so on.  I would always wonder if I ever got pregnant, how would I look.  I completely understand that in the whole grand scheme of things, how I carry is at the bottom of my important priorities!  But it was up a lil higher on my petty priority list.  (insert another blushing, bashful face here)

So when I was getting ready for work this morning, half dressed and all - Tim walks in with a goofy grin on his face.  So I had to ask what was going on.
 
Tim: "It's funny to see you pregnant." 
Me: "Funny, how?" 
Tim: "Funny that you look normal all over but then you have all your baby weight right in your belly" 
Me:  all smiles

Don't I have the greatest husband ever?!?!?!

and another thing checked off my petty wish list

Hello...My Name is 3rd Trimester

How Far Along? 28 weeks YAY!  Officially in the third trimester!!  I actually can't believe that it is already here.


Weight Gain? More than I prefer :)  We'll say 25ish.... but the better question is Stretch Marks?  No!  (at least none yet)

Maternity Clothes? Yes please!  They feel so much better that trying to make regular clothes work with a belly band.  But I am still able to fit into some of my pre-pregnancy clothes.
Symptoms? Congested, I blow my nose at least 5 times a day.  I've had one event of sciatic nerve pain, but thankfully that's all so far.   Sleep is getting a little more tricky...I've started waking up for a couple hours in the middle of the night again.
Movement? LOTS!  Sometimes its so much that it makes my stomach sore, but I am in love with it.

Sleep? Besides the couple hours I'm wide awake playing solitaire on my phone...still good!
Food Cravings? Sweets and desserts...but that's nothing new.  Thank you peppermint ice cream...all of Deb's cookies she made...Starbucks decaf peppermint mochas......yummmmm
Best Moment of the Week?  Finalizing our pediatrician and daycare.  That took a lot off my mind!  Thanks to the recommendation of some dear dear friends, we found our pediatrician who is very down to earth.  They have an EXCELLENT set up close to our house and a 24 hr nurse line staffed by the nurses in their office that we'll come to know!  Plus, Dr. Bob had lil Elmo's securing his shoelaces....how can kids not love that?!?!?  They'll fit you in same day, or even in couple hours, if you call with a sick kid.  We felt very comfortable.  Our daycare is a facility...which we were kind of thinking in-home initially.  But with Tim and my work schedule, this place is exactly what we need.  They are always there, they don't take a week or two off for vacation.  They are great with drop-off and pick-up times.  Their staff has been there for awhile and is very consistent for the kids.  I could keep going on and on, we liked it a lot.
Gender? still our baby boy
What I Miss? Nothing...I'm loving this pregnancy.
What I'm Looking Forward To? Our Drs Appt this morning, hopefully I can sweet talk him into an extra ultrasound.  If he shoots me down, then I'm looking forward to seeing more family.  Christmas with Caren is this weekend at our house.  We love it when people come stay with us!
Weekly Wisdom? Appreciate everything, the good and the bad.  Yesterday I had made a to do list for work and a to do list for home.  I didn't make as much progress as I would have liked on either, so in my middle of the night tossing and turning I started thinking/worrying about it all.  I'm so busy.  How's this all going to get done?  After this to do list, then we'll have X event come and then A,B,C needs to be done.  Blah, Blah, Blah.  I didn't like the words coming out of my mind...so I'm changing them.  I made a conscious effort to change them and it's already made a big difference in my stress level...I can just feel it.  I'm lucky to have such a long to do list...and that I'll be able to get it all done.  And I will, one way or another.  This list represents all that I have.  Gifts to buy loved ones - thank god I can afford to show others how much they mean to me, even if wrapped in a little package.  Food and meals to plan for family gatherings - thank god I still have a lot of family still around and that our schedules allow for us to meet up.  Laundry - thank god our washer didn't go out a month ago when we thought it had, that saved us a lot of money.  And so on.....just appreciate life.

Appointments? Today!  And then another in two weeks.
Baby Size?  Over 2 1/4 pounds....around 15 inches long.

A week in review

My week in review....it's been a jammed packed one!  I wish I could squeeze more hours out of each day.  Then I could get so much more done, including more posting.

This past week at work, we had helpers brought in from other campuses.  So Monday was spent meeting with them and going over obstacles that I would love their help on removing.  So far so good...home office sent us really good helpers!

Tuesday was our last monthly doctors appointment.  Dr C let us know that we would now be switching to every two weeks.  Which sounds super exciting!  I can't believe we're already on the cusp of being in the third trimester!  Next time we see him, we will be officially in that elusive third trimester!  Everything is still looking good and sounding good on the doppler but no ultrasound.  I asked when our next one would be and it's not until 36 weeks!!!  I was in shock!  That's ten weeks away!  Our last ultrasound was October 19th at the specialist, almost 5 weeks earlier.  That will be over 3months in between ultrasounds!!!  I feel as if I'm going through withdrawal.  This is the longest I've gone without an ultrasound since this crazy let's-have-a-baby science experiment started!  Is this what normal pregnancies do?  We've had 26 ultrasounds to date, through all the testing and trying and succeeding.  I LOVE having a "normal" pregnancy and that our little peanut is healthy......but I'm not sure I like being so normal that I don't get to peek in there to check in on him.  Oh God!   I'm already that overbearing, suffocating, too involved mother in my son's life!  :)

Wednesday I was at an all day training session at work and left a smidge early because we went to Carrie Underwood's concert!  It was such a good time!  There was a lot of great music...loud music, and I think baby boy loved it.  He was either having the best time and dancing up a storm OR mad at all the noise and throwing the biggest tantrum ever.  He was moving all over!!!  He was kicking high up in my abdomen, lower in my stomach, and both on my right and left sides.  He was all over the place.  It was really fun to feel him move so much!  We didn't get home and in bed till after midnight.  It's been a long time since I remember being awake that late.  It was worth it though.

Thursday I went out to Kansas City for the day for more training for work.  Drove 3 hours out in the morning, did an afternoon session of training, and then drove 3 hours back after dinner.  A 12 hour day, but better than our usual of having to go to Chicago for training.  I was pretty exhausted when I got home.

Friday I had the morning off, since I'm working my half day in the afternoon and then another half day Saturday.  I made sure to get the most out of my morning.  Dentist appointment, then eye doctor appointment, then ran errands at Target, got to the lab and completed my glucose test and was still at work by 12:30pm!!!!  Yay me for getting a ton off my to do list!  The glucose test was just a 1 hour and it was no where near as bad as I've heard.  It was like drinking an orange soda with a couple extra spoonfuls of sugar in it.  Not syrupy, but it did give me a headache.  Fingers crossed that I passed!  We should find out Monday or Tuesday.  When I got to work at 12:30pm, my advisor who just successfully completed training turn in his resignation.  Dang it!!  Not the best way to start my work day.  I just can't seem to catch a break at work lately. 

Saturday was a whirlwind as well.  I was so tired and did not want to get out of bed to go into work.  I managed to drag myself out of bed and worked 9-1pm.  Tim and I had made a pact to get some of our Christmas shopping done Saturday.  So I came home and switched into jeans and headed right back out the door.  First we were looking for maternity black work pants and newer, nicer jeans for me.  He felt my frustration because there just isn't much out there.  All our lives, you are told to only buy it if you love it.  If you don't love it in the store, you won't wear it at home.  I don't think that advice carries over to maternity clothes, there is such a limited selection.  Maternity clothes advice should be "if it kinda-sorta fits, buy it".  We went to the mall, target, and samsclub all before church.  After church we refueled with dinner out and then hit up walmart.  Finally got back home after 8pm.  Found black work slacks for $7, most Christmas presents purchased, and even some grocery shopping done!  Another long day but another day of getting lots off my to do list!  At least these busy days help me sleep better.  No more waking up for a couple hours in the middle of the night.

Now it's Sunday.  A week since my last post and hopefully you can see why there was no time and/or energy to get one out.  Today I'll still be busy.  Trying to get somethings done around the house, but have to go back out to a different mall to search for those elusive maternity jeans and hopefully something cute for Tim's work party.  I don't understand how hard it is to make a jean in maternity size that is dark blue and not bleached all over!?!?!  It's also the time of year to get our wedding rings checked and I want to look at watches for Tim for Christmas.  Then partnering up with some of the ladies at church to shop for our adopted family and afterwards dinner with friends.  Hopefully I can squeeze in getting Christmas cards done today too...if not there's always tomorrow! 

Enough typing...I'm off to tackle more of my to do list!

Thankful

Thanksgiving came and went really fast this year.  I almost forgot when it was and I swear I lost a week somewhere.  Tim was a great help getting the gooey butter pumpkin cake and sweet potato casserole made.  Then we packed up our little boys in their little doggie bed and headed out to see family for Thanksgiving.  It was a good time.  How can you not have fun when you have little 5 and 3 year old nephews running around and into football as much as you are?!?  The bonus was the snuggles from the 2 month old nephew...so cute!

We worked in a lot of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions...too much food, lots of football, a little shopping, and being with family.  Tim and I are definitely blessed.  This year I know we feel it in every bone in our body.  We relish that this will be our last holidays as a couple.  We relish the sleeping in, but also relish the hopes and dreams for next year.  We sit relaxing on the couch, talking about how we're going to chase a kiddo around next year.  We put up our Christmas decorations but hatch a plan of how to do so with a 8 month old wandering around the boxes next year.  We relish knowing where we were in this infertility battle last year and are grateful that we kept fighting to get where we are today. 

This year, this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for science. Thankful for IVF and that I'm here in 2010 using the technology that was first successful just a short 30-some years ago.  Thankful for Drs Edwards and Steptoe in England who developed this treatment.  When everything on paper appeared as if Tim and I should have no problem having a baby, but then month after month after month...something was missing.  I'm thankful for the science.  That bloodwork has developed to catch my negative RH factor, that ultrasounds are clear enough to catch the band of scar tissue (that could have been devastating but isn't thanks to perinatal specialist visits), and that science has helped get us through this.  I know some may wonder where God is in all of this and let me tell you....he is here.  Going down the path Tim and I now have, knowing so much more of the "what-ifs" and the negative "could-be" side of things, God is here.  There's no way this could have been possible without him...he is in the science.  And for that, I am thankful.

25 weeks!

How Far Along? 25 weeks

Weight Gain? I'm really starting to not like this question...stupid scale.

Maternity Clothes? Time to go all maternity!  But need to find time to go shopping for that to happen.  I think I just need a couple more pairs of pants for work, and one more pair of jeans and I should be all set.

Symptoms? Baby is getting bigger, so there is definitely less and less room for my bladder.
Movement? LOTS!  And its glorious!  We can even see him moving from the outside now.  I'm so glad that he loves to move so much.  Going through IVF makes you a little more paranoid than usual, so the constant reminder that all is good is great.
Sleep? Still pretty good.  Only getting up once or twice a night.  Getting in and out of bed is a little bit trickier but still good.
Food Cravings? Still desserts but I'm controlling my cravings better.

Best Moment of the Week? I'm going to say it's going to be tomorrow at 6ish pm.  Then I'll start my four day weekend....so excited!
Gender?  BOY!

What I Miss? Really truly....not much at all.  Being pregnant is such a gift and I don't know if everyone out there really realizes that.  So I make sure to soak in each day because I only get 9 months.

What I'm Looking Forward To?  Getting peanut's blanket done.  I've completed the crib skirt, now I just need to do the blanket.

Weekly Wisdom?  Listen to your body, it usually knows best.  I.e. working 55 hours in a week isn't always the best...so then you need to take lots of naps over the weekend.
Appointments? Monthly Dr's appointment is next Tuesday....I hope they do another ultrasound.

Random Thoughts

This week, I keep thinking of all the little bits I forget to add on here.  Not that it matters too too much, but I like to keep my family, some who are out of state, as close as possible.  A huge way of doing so, is through this little science experiment.

So it turns out that my best friend and I continue think a lot alike.  She already has my all time favorite onesie at her place....waiting for me. 

Awhile ago I saw closet dividers for nurseries, so you can clearly see all the 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months clothes and etc. Ingenious! I had extra clips from the goodie bags from my baby shower. I couldn't bear to toss them out so I hung on to them. Yesterday I was washing all of lil Will's clothes and hanging them up and it hit me...they fit on the closet!!! So I just marked a little 0-3, 3-6, 6-9 on them and now I have uber cute, and really meaningful closet organizers. THANKS!!!!

When my sister and mom were out for our annual girls weekend, we got some shopping in....

Here is baby's first Mizzou tiger!  And like most of our uncommon sport situations in this family, we are also currently on the search for a little cornhusker-ish hat.  I'm thinking a little beanie that looks like corn with some green husk, or a mini version of the corncob hat.

Baby boy's crib skirt is finished and on the crib.  The baseball fabric is so cute!  I can't wait to get the actual blanket done!

Most of the Christmas decorations are already up!  Thanks to us not holding Thanksgiving at our place this year :)  Mostly we've got our 12 foot tree left to get up and decorate.  I'll post pics when we're done.

And Tim's sick.  I think a cold that gave him a sinus infection.  Let's hope I don't get anything...please work flu shot please!

I'm in Love

with this perfect onesie and hat. 

I HAVE TO HAVE THIS!  After seeing it, I can't imagine bringing our baby boy home in anything else.  Of course, I'll need to get him little pants and jacket for it since he'll be coming home in March.  But this is definitely his coming home outfit...our coming home outfit.

It is my wish for all my IF buddies to someday come home with their own little one that will definitely be worth the wait.

Lil Kicks

So maybe there's a pattern here...I have lots more time to blog when Tim's out of town.  :)

He's on his way back from his latest trip to Bethesda tonight.  Unfortunately his flight was delayed, so it'll be late when he gets home.  So I'm here trying to stay awake.  Peanut is trying to help me stay up by kicking lots.  He's been pretty feisty today.  And I definitely don't mind!  Starting Sunday, I have been able to see my belly move when he gets a good kick in.  Right now it looks like a concentrated hiccup but you can definitely see it.  The awesome thing was my Mom was still in town Sunday and she was the first to see it.  How cool is that!?!  So until Tim gets home, I'll just continue to sit here and stare at my stomach :)

One of Tim's Fave

Here's a sneak peek of one of the adorable pieces of clothes we received at the shower.  Tim's in love with it.

Happy Anniversary

One year ago today I was in a very different place.  I was still here, sitting on the couch, typing on this old laptop, entering in my very first post on this blog.  But babies seemed like an impossible dream a year ago and here I am now getting kicked by baby boy.  What a difference a year can make! 

Plus it has been a rowdy last week to wrap up the year.  Last week at work is one for the record books!  I had to let an go employee on Monday.  Tuesday, one of my other employees turned in her resignation.  The other Assistant Director had to let another employee go on Wednesday.  Then Thursday, two employees were demoted and my Director was let go.  I was asked to take on the Director role for the interim.  I haven't even been there for 6 months yet!  Crazy!  Good news is that I love my job and feel good taking care of things.

This past weekend was my first baby shower that was a joint shower with Amanda, Tim's sister.  It was a lot of fun and definitely overwhelming....I never would have dreamed of so many loving friends and family around us.  Plus it was definitely a "shower" of gifts!!!  As soon as I get the pics all together, I'll get some posted.  We have our stroller and car seat, boppy, high chair, Cubs furniture,  and too many cute outfits to count!

Happy Anniversary!

Lucky Number 23

How Far Along? 23 weeks
Weight Gain? 19 pounds!!! Hopefully it doesn't look like 19 pounds!

Maternity Clothes? Definitely running out of my normal clothes that fit...but I'm too picky with maternity clothes.  It's hard to find ones I like.

Symptoms? Nothing crazy...a lot less congested...get up once or twice during the night to use the bathroom...but that's it.  The only crazy symptom are my emotions.  Supposedly I take things very personally these days :)

Movement? Oh yeah!  And it's fabulous!!!  One weekend he kicked me ALL weekend long.  His usual playtime is between 2-4am.  Then this morning, my alarm was about to go off and there was a dance party happening in my belly!  I LOVE IT!

Sleep? Still good!

Food Cravings? Sweets, but I've always liked sweets.

Best Moment of the Week? Girls weekend!  My mom and sister flew out for our annual girls weekend.  I had a blast.  We got a lot of shopping in!  Plus a few great things for peanut!

Gender? Our specialists ultrasound reconfirmed....It's a BOY!

What I Miss? Having enough hours in the day.  So far the baby to do list is completely good and manageable, but combine that with my HUGE work to do list, plus holiday shopping to do list....that's when I need to figure out how to clone myself!

What I'm Looking Forward To? This weekend.  Mom is flying back into town with Larry!  And we're having Tim's families joint baby shower for his sister and I.  Her present arrived in the mail yesterday and is super cute!!!

Weekly Wisdom? Tell your husband you love him lots!!!!  He will really appreciate it coming from his wife who was momentarily taken over by pregnancy hormones and had morphed into a crazy lunatic!
Appointments? Regular monthly drs appointment at the end of the month.

Baby Size? Over 12 inches long and over a pound!

Busy Busy

We've been really busy this week!  Lots going on at work and lots going on at home...

Nursery furniture came!!!  And we saved boat loads on it!  Didn't pay shipping by picking it up at a store.  Tim was able to leave work early and he handled all the transportation back to the house.  He's the best ever.  Fabulous furniture, it's amazing quality.  The other amazing thing....dresser and changer came preassembled and the crib only took 30 minutes to put together!  How great is that!?!?!  I love that the changer will adapt into a nightstand.  The crib goes into a toddler bed, then a daybed, then a full sized bed. Awesome!

I was also busy cruising the internet too....

Found the cutest baby book and it came with a matching brag book.  I had to get the brag book...I'm not a true mom until I'm hauling pics of my little around :)  Even if its full of only ultrasound pics :)  I love that its cutesy without going over the top.

When we were around doing our registries I had checked everywhere for the little hats to make Will look like a baby bear.  I couldn't find them anywhere!  So during my cruising I found this cute little one.  I'm thinking he may be dressed in various animal hats often.  I just can't help myself!!!

A Sneak Peek

A look at some of Williams first presents for his room!

THANKS MOM!

Halfway There!!

How Far Along?  20 weeks

Weight Gain?  16 pounds!!!  So much for trying to stay on track for the recommended 25-35lbs. Ha!

Maternity Clothes?  My maternity clothes are mostly work clothes, but I am still needing to shop for more since regular clothes + belly band are not nearly as comfortable.

Symptoms?  Still congested but I'm also starting to tear up at certain commercials or tv shows.

Movement?  YES!!!  Finally!  It started around the time I went to Chicago for my last conference.  It was so soft and sporadic that it was hard to know for sure.  But it just kept happening :)  Then last night was the first time Tim was able to feel him.  It was amazing!

Sleep?  Still pretty good, I'm only getting up once a night to head towards the bathroom.  I toss and turn a bit but nothing bad.

Food Cravings?  Desserts and sweets.  I broke Tim down last time we were grocery shopping and we got ice cream, toaster strudels (which are like pure sugar!), gummi snacks, candy coated pretzels, supplies for cake.  But now after stepping on the scale, I need these foods out of the house asap :)

Best Moment of the Week?  It's a tie between seeing the look on Tim's face last night when he felt baby boy move.  His face just lit up.  And our specialist appointment on Tuesday when they said our band was in fact scar tissue and completely benign!  Those few words sounded amazing after two hours of ultrasound techs and specialist taking a million pictures!

Gender?  Tuesday's ultrasound marathon confirmed again that he's still our baby boy!  Tim and I are super excited!!!!!  It helps too when we see things around the house that scream baby boy....thanks to my mom.  Little William has already started getting mail and Tim gets so excited he opens it and starts assembling!  We now have the cutest Cubs lamp, step stool, and toy box ever!!!

What I Miss?  Anything I miss, I miss for just a second.  Then I know deep in my heart and soul that I would give those things up forever to be right here in the moment that I am now.

What I'm Looking Forward To?  On Sunday we ordered our nursery furniture!!!  It was so unexpected since we were going to wait until after the holidays but we had gotten coupons, they had a sale, and we were able to get free shipping!  Hopefully it will be here in time for baby shower #1.  Tim's sister, Amanda, and I are due less than two weeks apart so his family suggested a joint family shower.  I just got the invitation last night and it's uber cute!

Weekly Wisdom?  Embrace the anxiety because it will always be there, just changing forms. 
For two weeks since our last ultrasound, Tim and I were a ball of nerves because of all the horrible things a "band" could do to our little boy.  Then two days leading up to the ultrasound, our lil peanut decided to take a break from moving and kicking.  That sent my mind into all kinds of dark scenarios.  But I believed we would be ok, no matter what the specialists said.  I'm still not able to fully embrace the anxiety at every moment, but I'm trying.  Because it will return before our next Drs appointment in two weeks, then before he's born, then after he's born we'll worry about sids or learning development, then we'll worry about him driving and dating, etc.  So embrace the anxiety.

Appointments?  Regular monthly drs appointment in two weeks

Baby Size? 13 ounces according to the ultrasound!!!!  We're thinking no newborn sized clothes for us :)

Secrets

So I realized that last post I slipped out our baby name without giving it any fanfare.  I don't really know if names need fanfare, but it did just sneakily slip out.  So far we haven't been keeping or able to keep anything secret with this little one.  I mean, seriously, when you're going through IVF your days are mapped out to the letter.  So people know everything.  Which was completely fine with us.  We needed all the prayers we could get, and when "the day" would come, we would know that our family and friends were praying for us on that exact day.  It was very comforting.  With IVF I could tell you probably close to the hour our little egg was fertilized, tell you the day it was transferred back to me, tell you the day it implanted, etc.  At one point I thought it odd that I knew all these dates, but now I think it's kind of special.  I mean how many people really know the exact moment a miracle happened?  So that process wasn't secret.  We didn't keep secret if it was a boy or girl, and we're not keeping secret the name.  Mainly because Tim and I are bad at secrets, and a little because I've always envisioned personalized blankies, etc.  :)

But back to the name.....no secret.  Tim and I had it picked out for a long time.  We wanted our baby to have a name that meant something, that had a story.  Our little boy will be named after a couple great men in Tims family, his dad and grandfather.  I hear stories of his grandfather and he seemed like an amazing man, I wish I could have known him.  I hadn't found or read a boys name that I had fallen in love with until Tim mentioned this one.....and then I just knew it was the right one.  It means will and desire.......very fitting for our little boy.....William George.

Yup, no secrets here.

Except for the nursery....Tim has me on lock down on exactly how we're going to decorate it.  We've got it all decided and its going to be uber cute but all I'm allowed to say is that it will be a Chicago Cubs baseball themed nursery.  That's it.  We'll see how long this "secret" really lasts :)

Hopeful and Fun and Scary

Things are slowly starting to turn real.  It's hopeful and fun and scary all in one.  For a long time I would think of all the what-if's and it was fun to plan.  What if it's a girl?  What if it's a boy?  What if it's born in the spring or fall?  Daycare or in home care?  Names?  Nursery ideas?  Now we're getting to answer some of those what-if's.

We've talked to some of our great friends and have some really good recommendations for pediatricians and daycare options.  I don't know what we would do without friends that we truly trust their opinions.  I love seeking their advice.  They are great parents!  We now have a pediatrician on our list to go and interview.  I'm already liking their office since they can get you in pretty much immediately.  That's a huge bonus.  Plus they're only 2 minutes away from the house!  We've got a glowing recommendation for an in-home place and a daycare to check out too.  Tim and I were initially leaning towards daycare for the structure and early child development/curriculum aspects but after hearing about this in-home provider...we may have found the best of both worlds.  Smaller environment plus all the learning activities.  Even though it was just a conversation (and some great apple pie) Tim and I really appreciated having friends to lean on for decisions like these.  Thanks you L!

This past weekend, we got a good chunk of our registry done.  Thank goodness!!!  For some reason that task seemed huge and so daunting.  Tim and I had another friend of ours help walk us through the aisles so we wouldn't go crazier than crazy.  Even though I'm sure she didn't think it was a big thing.....she was a lifesaver!  A few things I knew exactly what would work best for us, others I would just look at her completely lost.  She's the perfect registry partner, gives her opinion but also explains the thinking behind it.  There were tons of things I wouldn't have even thought of.  She made it super easy....I mean we made it through 2 hours of up and down the aisles and now yelling, kicking, or screaming.  Now just one more store to register at and we'll be all done!  Thank you K!

Those tasks make our little boy seem real.  No more planning for the what-ifs that may not have ever came to reality.  No more planning for a fake reality.  No more planning about some pretty future to keep me from crying about the stark reality of some of our days.  Now we're planning for William....our William.  And it's hopeful and fun and scary all in one.

Best Present Ever!

Yesterday my pregnancy pillow came.  Tim had asked me a couple days ago if I had a certain one in mind, and honestly I hadn't even thought about it yet.  I was thinking my belly isn't big enough to call for one yet, I've got a king size pillow in addition to my normal one, so I thought I was good.  Wrong!  Everyone should have a pregnancy pillow!!!  Even if you're not pregnant!

It was an amazing night of sleep!

ps- I forgot to mention last post that towards the end of our ultrasound, our lil man got the hiccups!  Talk about the cutest thing!  I did feel a little bad for the poor guy, seeing his little body shake.  I swear I could see the look on his face....what the heck is going on???

pps- Our ultrasound at our specialist is scheduled for October 19th.  Prayers that the amniotic band is nothing to worry about.

IT'S A......

BABY BOY!!!

Hi Mom and Dad!

Yesterday was so much excitement all in one.  I couldn't sleep much the night before because I was so anxious.  My anxiety was constantly flipping between excited to find out, and scared to see since I hadn't felt him move yet.  Those bad thoughts just have a way of creeping in...its awful.  Got up early and Tim and I drove separately to the appointment since we both had to go to work afterwards.  Good thing was that they got us into our ultrasound first thing!  We started looking at all of our big baby.  He was a moving and a shaking.  Arms moving from his head to his feet, playing with his feet.  Legs kicking all over.  I'm now thinking that not being able to feel him yet might be a blessing.  He makes me think that once I do feel him, it'll be like a war going on in my belly!

Everything measured perfectly on track for our March 8th due date.  Heartbeat was nice and strong.  After we were done with the ultrasound, it took awhile for the Doc to come in.  Turns out he had to discuss things with the ultrasound tech.  This was the first ultrasound where they were able to detect an amniotic band.  Still unsure what to think  of that yet.  Does anyone have any experiences with this???  Or know someone?  Because the internet of course shows you all the worst case scenarios.  It could be very severe or it could be not-a-big-deal.  Dr. C recommended and is scheduling us to go to a specialist to get a more detailed ultrasound and their "specialist" opinion.  I'm trying not to think about it too much until after we meet with the specialists, since there is nothing I can do right now.  On the positive side, we get another ultrasound in a couple weeks to see our little guy again!  And it seems that we just can not get away from specialists :)

After our appointment when we were talking out by our cars before leaving I gave Tim his surprise gift.  I had been using my lunch hours all week to search for the perfect little boy and little girl picture frame for him to display this ultrasound in his office.  So I grabbed the little boy frame out of my hiding spot and he was shocked.  He kept saying that he's a guy and didn't know that we were supposed to do this kind of exchange thing.  He was so cute.

On my way to work I made a few calls and got it set up that my mom and sister would both hear the news by baby boy balloons being delivered to their work from their newest nephew and grandson.  Shortly after I get to work, I received a delivery of my own...

Tim sent me baby boy flowers!  They are sooo cute and the Kewpie doll keep me smiling all day at work!

All night I was thinking of our little boy.  It's going to be so much fun.  Tim and I are both into sports, so we'll be able to share baseball, football, hockey, etc with him.  He will have a lot of little boy cousins to play and rough house with!  Holidays are going to be crazy in a few years when all these new babies are up and mobile!  I won't have to change my "I'm home" saying....I can still come in the door and ask "How are my boys doing?"  I'm so excited.

Now onto creating the registry!

Almost 17 weeks!!!

 

As you can see, my photographer again had "pointers".  Tim said the first one looked good but I needed more attitude.  So a struck a pose not knowing he already had the camera ready to snap it right away!!!  Then it was just too funny to delete.

How Far Along?  It will be 17 weeks on Tuesday!

Weight Gain?  9 sometimes 10 pounds

Maternity Clothes?  My pants are pretty much all maternity now and half of the tops I wear too.  They are sooooo much more comfortable than still trying to make my pre-pregnancy clothes fit.  Everyone just throw up a little prayer that all my cute heels still continue to fit throughout the rest of these 40 weeks. :)

Symptoms?  Sometimes I get congested.  Some mornings I blow my nose all morning long.  Supposedly your mucus production goes into overdrive when pregnant.  But no other symptoms....YAY!

Movement?  None that I can feel yet.  A few of my friends who are less than a couple weeks ahead of me are already feeling movements and little kicks.  I'm so very excited for them but now it has me constantly thinking about movements.  Even though my head says they are ahead of me, my heart wants to feel something now.  I can't wait for the little peanut to kick me like crazy and keep me up all hours of the night!  In some ways the little one is already keeping me up at night.  In the past week or two, I've had three dreams that I could feel the baby kick.  In one, he or she was doing somersaults on my left side over and over and over.  It was so cute, you could feel the bump of the head and then two little feet over and over....or at least what I think it would feel like to have them doing somersaults.  In another dream, he or she was punching like crazy on my right side.  You would have thought it was boxing time!  I had Tim feel my side and everything.  In the morning I had to double check that I was dreaming.  Tim looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if he was for sure I didn't wake him up in the middle of the night to feel my belly.

Sleep?  Back to regular people's bedtime!  I can still sleep on my back if needed (see mucus production above) or my sides.  Being a stomach sleeper is now out of the question since my uterus has decided to be large and in charge.

Food Cravings?  Just random stuff at random times.  Nothing that is a craving so bad that I "have to have it now or die."  Chips and salsa one day, orange candy slices the next.

Best Moment of the Week?  I got the magazine American Baby in the mail!  It was super cute and had lots of good info.  It came with my name on it and everything...maybe I have a secret admirer.

Gender?  It seems that everyone I know is having boys right now.  Will we go with the flow or buck the trend???  We'll see next Monday.

What I Miss?  With the cool, fall weather rolling in, apple cider scented candles wafting around the house, the chili and football weekends - it leads me to think of another fall favorite - St. Wenceslaus wine.  It's more like an adult apple cider than wine and has been a mainstay of my falls and winters for years.  My dear friend, I will miss you.  Even though nothing truly compares to everything we've gone through to get here and as wonderful as this pregnancy has been - I will be waiting for you next year!

What I'm Looking Forward to?  Next Monday's ultrasound!!!!!!!!  I'm so ready to find out if we're having a little girl or boy!  It will be so exciting!

Weekly Wisdom?  I need to keep more snacks in my purse.  Who knows when traffic is going to be crazy or the quick Walmart run becomes not-so-quick. 

Appointments?  October 4th!!!  We're so excited!

Baby Size?  About 5 inches and 5 ounces....the size of an avocado.  Sounds tiny, and really is tiny, but try putting a ruler to your belly and seeing the 5 inches.  It was definitely bigger than I thought!

Yummy!

So here I am in Chicago, day 3 going on 4 of a work conference.  And I may have found my new favorite Italian place, Carlucci's.

Linguini in a parmesan cheese wheel....yummy!!!  Then when its nice and melted in the cheesy sauce, they plate it with the proscuitto.  It was sooooo good!

Visiting the Fam

Today we went out to see our new nephew Tucker.  You really forget how small they are!  He was probably about 7 1/2 lbs now and so cute.  Did only the things a 4 day old does best, eat - sleep - dirty his diaper - repeat.  But still absolutely adorable.

This was his favorite position of the day.  Looks like he found a very comfortable spot!

He was soooo little.  And so much brown hair!  While I was holding baby Tuck, the other boys had their usual fun with Uncle Tim.

Tim got his time with baby Tucker though, but of course his fan club wasn't far behind...

It was a good little trip today.  Welcoming the newest family member and catching up on all the happenings.....and we even got some football watching in!

Meet Baby Tucker!

My latest nephew!!!  Born just yesterday, 7 lbs 10 oz.  Can't wait to meet him this weekend!!!

15 weeks

How Far Along?  15 Weeks

Weight Gain?  7 lbs....that's normal right?  I keep flipping back and forth into my old life of thinking "OMG I'm fat"  to "OMG look at my cute belly hanging out"

Maternity Clothes?  Ordered some belly bands online and I can't wait for those to show up on my doorstep!  Otherwise I have my $8 pair of jeans and 3 dresses.  The rest is my normal wardrobe.

Symptoms?  Nope!!!

Sleep?  I'm not needing as much which is fabulous!  It's like I've gotten my life back with all those extra hours.

Food Cravings?  Gotta-have-it-or-die cravings = no.  But anything full of sugar is looking very enticing.

Best Moment of the Week?

Gender?  We're thinking boy.  When we talk at home we say him.  But of course we would be crazy about a lil' girl.

What I Miss?  Nothing!

What I'm Looking Forward to?  Feeling the little peanut move!!!

Weekly Wisdom?  Always check online before buying in the store.  In the store, one belly band is $17.  Online, a stay-at-home mom sells belly bands 3 for $15!

Milestones?  Set our appointment for the anatomy scan/ultrasound! October 4th we'll find out if peanut is a little boy or a little lady.

Emotions?  Less clingy :)

Appointments?  Next one we find out gender!!!!!!!

Baby Size?  About 4 inches and 2 1/2 ounces....the size of an apple.

Randomness

I don't know why some days I've got so much to say from the day before, but others I go a week inbetween posts...  I wouldn't say anything monumental happened this week, but a lot of randomness.

Family was in town for the holiday weekend.  We got in our one and probably only trio of bumps picture.  Tims sister and sister in law are both pregnant as well.  One has her c-section scheduled for Wednesday and the other is just two weeks ahead of me.  It was kinda funny seeing our different bumps all lined up together.  And boy was there a lot of food consumed in this house last weekend!  Most people use Labor Day weekend to soak up the last bit of summer, not us.  This summer was brutal!  A record number of days in the 100's!  We used Labor Day weekend to kick the summer into the past and welcome in the fall.  It was actually cool enough to open our windows for a couple days, we ate pot roast and mashed potatoes and apple crisp.  We dug out the fire pit and made smores outside.  Lit my all time fave fall candles in the house.  It was awesome.  Now if I can just convince Tim that it's time to light up the fireplace :)

My boss returned from her maternity leave on Tuesday, so I waited until Wednesday to spring it on her that I was pregnant.  She was really excited, or a really really good actress, for me.  That was a huge relief for me.  Especially since I've only been working for her for 3 months and all but 4 days of that were with her on her own maternity leave.  The rest of the office was super excited too.  The great thing about coming out at work is that I don't have to hide my bump anymore.  Welcome comfy clothes!!!  So now I've got a total of 3 maternity dresses, all wearable to work.  One I wore to Tim's work picnic, and another I can dress up for an upcoming wedding.  Today I also bought my first pair of maternity jeans.  I could still wear my regular jeans for maybe another week or two, but they were on clearance so I had to get them.  Plus it was fate.  The only sizes left were 18 and 2....neither are close to my normal size, but something whispered to me to just try the size 2.  Guess what.....they fit!!!  How much of a self esteem booster is that?!?!?  Size two jeans while in your 2nd trimester and for only $8!!!!  I should go buy a lottery ticket.

Today we had our first OB appointment of the 2nd trimester.  Our first dr's appointment in a long while with no ultrasound.  It felt kinda weird.  I mean here we are only 14 weeks in and have already have 4 different ultrasounds.  Thank you follow up for IVF :)  At least they used the doppler today and we got to hear the heartbeat for a long while.  I hope everyone's OB is kind like ours and spends awhile listening to heartbeats or watching the little peanut squirm on ultrasounds.  I love that he doesn't rush through that part.  Through the doppler more so than through the ultrasound machines, it sounded like a herd of galloping horses.  Still the most beautiful music ever!  Mental note - look into at home dopplers to listen to instead of our current sound machine.

Test results came back today.  We opted to do the First Look screen and our risk of genetic issues are less than 1 in 10,000.  So that's a great number.  Our CF screen came back negative as well, risk is less than 0.005%.  So that's nice to have a little reassurance.

We've set the date....or actually the Doc did....October 4th!  Finally the perfect way to start a Monday - finding out if our little peanut will be wonderfully "swallowed in pink" or get the best baseball room ever.  I hadn't thought much about the day we would find out until we actually set the date.  Now I'm super excited and absolutely can not wait.  I'm so glad our OB wants to do it at 18 weeks, instead of 20.  YAY!!!

And that's all the randomness I can remember for right now.  But don't fret...I'm sure there will be much more to come.

Team Pink or Team Blue?

The big question lately has been boy or girl.  Most of my family has been calling girl.  Tim's work has been calling boy.  My work hasn't been calling anything (because they still don't know!)  Since I've got time on my hands, the 18-20 week mark is still a little ways off, I've set out on a mission.  I decided to entertain myself, and maybe you too, by going through all the old wives tales and see what the consensus is. 

Here we go....

Carrying high = Girl                                         Carrying low = Boy
Even though I'm not carrying much yet, I would say I'm carrying low.  My belly doesn't start pooching out until below my belly button.  So I'm going with low.  Mark one up for the boys.

Heartbeat 140 & higher = Girl                    Below 140 = Boy
Every ultrasound has been over 140.   Tally one for the girls.

Google says there is a Mayan predictor that takes the Mom's age at conception and the Year of conception.  I've heard of the Chinese calendar but not the Mayans.  Supposedly if both are even numbers or if both are odd numbers then Girl.  If one is even and one is odd then Boy.  I'm 29 years old, so that = Boy.

Chinese Calendar = Boy

Extreme nausea is to be a sign that it's a girl.  Since I had absolutely no morning sickness = Boy. 

Extreme breakouts also are a sign that it's a girl.  Geez, these little girls are hard on their mothers before we even know they're girls.  I had more breakouts than my norm, but Tim said it definitely wasn't extreme.   Chalk another one up for the Boys.

Craving sweets = Girl                                 Craving sour or salty = Boy
I love me some chips and salsa.  These pregnancy hormones haven't deterred that one little bit.   So salty it is........Boy.

There's a couple things Google brought up that may be too early to tell.  But let's give them a try anyways.  They predict based on my belly and my face.

Round & Full Face = Girl                           Long & Narrow Face = Boy
Survey says.................Boy.

Big & Round Belly = Girl                 Small & Straight Out Belly = Boy
Survey says.................Boy.

Having someone pick up a key.  If they pick it up on the narrow end = Girl.  If they pick the wider end = Boy.  Tim, not knowing what I was looking for, was my predictor.  He picked it up on the wide end...Boy.

If you place a ring or needle on a string and hold it over your belly, depending on the way it moves will determine girl or boy.  I placed Tim's wedding band on the end of a string.  I thought his ring would be better karma than just a plain old needle.  Thankfully Amanda was here, she's two weeks ahead of me.  We were trying to determine if it was going in a straight line or if it was moving in a circle a little bit. 
Line = Girl                            Circle = Boy
It looked like his ring was moving back and forth, but every once in awhile it would take a half turn.  So I had her try and then we learned what circles really looked like.  You would have thought it turned into a spinning top.
Amanda = Boy                      Me = Girl

Final Tally

Girl = 2                       Boy = 9

All said and done, I am truly excited to have a boy or a girl.

Bye Bye 1st Trimester

How Far Along? 13 weeks!  last week of the first trimester

Weight Gain?  up four pounds total

Maternity Clothes?  nothing new but soon I'm sure I'll expand my collection.  I'm barely fitting into my regular clothes anymore.

Symptoms?  None...thank God!

Sleep?  I'm not needing as much these days.

Food Cravings?  Not a lot of cravings but I'm definitely staying away from veggies.

Best Moment of The Week?  Going official on Facebook.  Even though our close family and friends already knew, it was kinda freeing to release the news to everyone else.  It's nice to feel safe enough to go out in the open with this kind of news.

Gender?  Family is calling "girl"  Friends are calling "boy" since I haven't been sick.

What I miss?  Nothing.  This is great!

Weekly Wisdom?  Think twice before asking the hubs to take your bump picture.  :)  He's more of a perfectionist than I thought!  He made me change into a different pair of pants to "show off my bump better"

Milestones?  Last week of the first trimester!

Emotions?  Per Tim "kinda clingy"

Appointments?  Since I'm out of my first trimester I can finally get back in to see my hair dresser!  I'm uber excited!  My roots haven't been touched for about four months!

Baby Size?  Around 3 inches and about an ounce.  My weekly email says that the baby has his/her fingerprints now.  How cute is that!!!

Nursery Ideas

We got another sneak peek at our little one!  We opted to do the First Look screen to give us a heads up on the chance of Downs syndrome and a couple other chromosomal abnormalities.  With our histories we don't feel our chances are higher than normal, but with IVF that rate does go up.  So we'll see.  The up-side is that we had another ultrasound done.

 The picture makes it look so real now!  We're not having to point out blobs on the screen and explain "that's a foot, that's the head."  So these definitely made our ultrasound photo frame! (thanks grandma!)  At first I was nervous during the ultrasound because the little one wasn't throwing a tantrum and moving like crazy, but I think he/she was just squashed under my full bladder.  Eventually in between screen shots I saw movement. The tech measured the heartbeat and I got to see it but not hear it.  162 beats per minute.  This ultrasound portion of the test put us in normal range, which was nice to hear.  We should get the blood work back before the end of the week.

Other things keeping me busy......planning the nursery!  I know we don't even know if it's a boy or girl yet, but I got to keep myself busy with something :)  If it's a boy, Tim's already claimed doing a Cubs themed room, and since I couldn't think of a better boy theme...Cubs it is.  A long time ago I spotted the perfect mobile, I don't know if people still use mobiles but I got one.

I couldn't find a Cubs bedding set without it being over the top though.  But I did find this!!  It's the Cooperstown collection!   It's got some baseball but nothing crazy.  It's got blue it in for the Cubs.  I like it!

And now for the girls....  I'm nervous to say what I would want the theme to be because I want it to cover every single wall.....but here we go...butterflies!

I was in love with a similar mobile through PotteryBarn kids where the butterflies were white.  But I went to their site last weekend and it was gone!!!  Luckily babies-r-us has this similar one in pink.  It's super cute!!!  And of course I couldn't just find one bedding set that I liked, so I'm still trying to narrow it down.  Here are a few of my faves.

I'm still looking for girlie bedding that takes my breath away.  These are cute but still undecided.  Good thing there's still a lot of time!

FOOD!

I just can't stop eating!!!  This is crazy!  I don't think I ate this much throughout my growth spurts in high school!  I need to figure out how to do this more effectively.  I am currently hauling in enough food to work each day to stock a grocery store!  Yesterday I had two breakfasts, 2 snacks before lunch, soup for lunch, 2 more snacks which are usually fruit or yogurt, then the big mac meal at mcdonalds!  And I still probably could have ate more!

Our Little Mover & Shaker