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!