Tuesday, May 29, 2012

21 weeks & baby L's Gender Reveal.

How far along? 21 weeks
Total weight gain: 16 pounds
Maternity clothes? Yes-siree. It's amazing how wonderful just a simple maternity T-Shirt feels. I thought for sure at least regular t-shirts would fit for longer....WRONG!
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep: Great! It's hard to get up sometimes though, I mean literally I have a difficult time finding a comfortable way to get up out of bed. I can't sit straight up because that hurts, so I have to do like, a combat roll off the side of the bed.
Best moment this week: Baby clothes shopping, and finally being able to add gender-specific items to my registries.
Miss Anything? Sleeping on my belly!
Movement: Yes! I have felt him several times this week, always when I'm laying around doing nothing. When I wake up in the mornings, I stay stick still for awhile to see if I can catch him groovin'.
Food cravings: Watermelon!! I've realized there are few things that taste better than ice cold, juicy watermelon when you're in the hot sun! I've probably consumed an entire mini watermelon on my own since Saturday.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.
Gender: It's a boy!
Labor Signs: Nope
Symptoms: Let's see.... got some heartburn this week, but nothing too awful, and then of course, feeling baby move. Also, it seems like my belly is always tight/uncomfortable, and often cramping.
Belly Button in or out? still in...for now.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy-ish, this week has been a wide array of emotions!!
Looking forward to: Putting my nursery together!! I've had my crib picked out for a while, (of course, it's out of stock on like, EVERY site until mid-June) and I also have a sweet rug picked out from Urban Outfitters that I'm ordering this week! EEEEK!
Showing?: For sure!
 
Well, this week I finally had the moment I'd been waiting for--finding out my baby's gender! The gender reveal party came together wonderfully! We had so many people come over to find out & celebrate with us. I spent weeks making decorations and they turned out so great.






We put my friend Jen and her hubby in charge of the big 'reveal'. On Thursday, we had my ultrasound, and I had the tech put the gender into a sealed envelope. Friday night, we took it to our friends. Jeremy made the cuuutest cake (see below!), but for the reveal we actually did a pinata. I wanted something a little different than the normal gender reveal party. So we bought a pinata, along with tons of blue and pink confetti/candy, etc. and they were left to stuff it with the right color!
 
When the moment finally came to break the pinata, we had about 20 people here, and also about 6 on skype. (THAT turned out to be a mess when we lost them ALL at the last minute. :( But they were at least 'here' for part of the party). We Keith broke the pinata in about two swings, and BAM blue stuff everywhere. :) Yep, indeed, it's a boy. See for yourself. (The ultrasound tech put this picture into the envelope).
 

I was so overwhelmed that day, what with everything going on, trying to get EVERYONE on skype for the party, trying to be a party host, that I didn't have time to sit down and think about the fact that I was having a boy until later. If you know me, you know I was hoping for a little girl, so I was a little disappointed at first, but it's like I've said before, we are blessed no matter what God decides to give us. I know I will love my boy more than anything, and one day laugh at the fact that I was hoping for him to be a girl! And look at all the cute little boys that were at the party, how could I NOT be excited to have one of these?!




 The cake Jeremy made, isn't it ADORABLE?!

(I actually met a photographer at my work a few weeks ago, and she had been wanting to photograph a gender party for awhile, so she offered to come do mine for free! She took some beautiful photos, so as soon as I get them I'll share them with you all! These ones here were taken by Jen and her awesome camera)

 
A while ago we decided on Liam for a boy. We both loved the name, and then I read that Liam is short for William (duh!) and we knew it couldn't be more perfect! I'm sure he'll be just like his daddy in every way...
(We'll just hope he inherits some good traits from me, too.)
For now, we'll let him grow big and strong so he can conquer the world!!

xoxox
mommy, daddy, & liam pope

Thursday, May 24, 2012

boy or girl? what will it be?

I used to have an entire fun post here with some fun 'gender' old wives' tales, but I accidentally deleted THE WHOLE THING and I can't get it back. :( :( SAD DAY!

But here is the fun invite that I designed for our gender reveal, available for sale in My Etsy Shop Here!



I kind of got sick of the font/layout of it, and since it's been so popular, I designed another one:


(It was a boy!)
 

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

week 20--halfway there!


How far along? 20 weeks--5 whole months!!
Total weight gain: 16 pounds! I finally bought a scale, and I was guessing on my weight gain... I was off a little, I thought it was less. But according to one of my pregnancy apps (yes, I am psycho and I have three on my phone) ... 'Most women have gained 10-18 pounds by this point...' So I guess I'm doing just fine!
Maternity clothes? Indeed. The shorts in this picture are not maternity, but they're also NOT buttoned. Not. Even. Close. So far I've purchased several maternity shirts, and I wear my leggings allll the time. I still need to find some cute maternity skinny jeans and some shorts.
Stretch marks? Halfway through without a stretch mark, let's hope the second half is just as good to me!
Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well! I use my body pillow to help me stay on my side through the night. I've found that if I don't, I end up on my back, and if I sleep on my back, I wake up with lots of cramps/pain in my abdomen.
Best moment this week:  Sending out my invites for my gender party and realizing that the date is very quickly approaching. Also... see 'movement'.... 
Miss Anything? I miss... being able to wear a cute tank top without my boobs popping out very inappropriately at the top.
Movement: I FELT MY BABY MOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS MORNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (This is one of the coolest things ever!) It was right after I woke up, and I was still laying in bed. It felt nothing like I thought it would...It was verry very obviously my baby kicking. It literally feels like...well.... like something is inside you moving! Sounds kind of gross, but totally not!
Food cravings: mmmm... tuna sandwiches from subway (I can only have one a week :/)......
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender:  SATURDAY!
Labor Signs: No way
Symptoms:  Let's see... major, major charlie horses in my legs this week, especially when I first wake up. And my heart will just RACE sometimes, just from walking across the room.
Belly Button in or out? innie still... BUT my belly button is way less deep than it normally is. I think it will poke out here in a month or two.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy :)
Looking forward to: Gender party Saturday! I am finally finding out if I'm having a son or a daughter. Then I can really start shopping for cute clothes and finish planning my nursery.
Showing?: Definitely poking out now.

Monday, May 14, 2012

week 19!

 
How far along? 19 weeks, 2 days
Total weight gain: about 10 pounds
Maternity clothes? They've come in in groves this week. :) barely any regular pants can be buttoned, so my goal was to get some maternity pants. I ended up with a (very very cute) maternity dress to wear to my gender party, four new shirts, and a pair of khaki capris. So one pair of pants. That's a start. :)
Stretch marks? Nooo. I am using BioOil every day to help me NOT get them.
Sleep: Wonderful as always, and hoping it stays that way. Keith got me one of those long body pillows for mother's day that is sooo so so so comfy. Now I may start to sleep even more...
Best moment this week: Oh I had so many wonderful moments this week.... I finished my invitations to the gender reveal, and they're going in the mail soon. I had a wonderful day at the beach with my friend & took these pictures, went shopping for maternity clothes, and then got a few wonderfully thoughtful gifts from Keith for Mother's Day. A great week all together.
Miss Anything? I actually really miss doing ab workouts. Sometimes I do situps on that giant workout ball thingy, just because....
Movement: Not yet! I read this was the week though!
Food cravings: Jalapenos!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender:  ???????????
Labor Signs: No way
Symptoms: Belly Button in or out? innie
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy :)
Looking forward to: Finishing planning my gender party! And being halfway through my pregnancy next week. :) HALF way! I can't believe it.
Showing?: YES and finally the first 'stranger' asked me about it!!!! It was a funny conversation. I was at work just making friendly chatter with a customer and she asked if I had kids. 
Me: 'No, but I'm pregnant!'
Her: 'I thought you were, but I didn't want to come out and say it in case I was wrong!' 
LOL!! Now that's tact ladies and gents....because you truly neevver know. :)

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

18 weeks

How far along? 18 weeks
Total weight gain: 9 pounds
Maternity clothes? I actually did cave and buy my first official maternity shirt this week! Just a simple white tee from Ross (you can never have too many white t's, right!) and I LOVE it. It fits so comfortably. I think there are one or two pair of pants left that still button...My friend Jen lent me some maternity pants, and soon I'll be shopping for my own.
Stretch marks? Nooo. I am using BioOil every day to help me NOT get them.
Sleep: I still sleep very well, aside from getting up three times a night to pee, but I'm getting more uncomfortable in the bed.
Best moment this week: I scored some suuuper cute handmade baby gear at a craft fair this weekend that I was pretty excited about, three bibs and a burp cloth. Also this week, I started working on some cute decorations for my gender reveal party and I can't waiiiit for it!
Miss Anything? I really miss fitting into my normal clothes.
Movement: None this week, but I guess my uterus is moving or something because I've had a lot of cramps.
Food cravings: Nutella & banana sandwiches this week!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender:  ???????????
Labor Signs: No way
Symptoms: Belly Button in or out? innie
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: A combination of both this week. Some things have been getting under my skin so much easier than usual.
Looking forward to: Finishing planning my gender party!
Showing?: Yep, starting to sport that bump.

Here's my suuper cute scores from the craft fair...
Got gender neutral for now. :)


And also my suuper cute gender-reveal decor....
Only a few more weeks now!!



Wednesday, May 2, 2012

17 weeks

How far along? 17 weeks
Total weight gain: 9 pounds (And I am quite surprised at how big a difference 9 pounds makes in terms of clothes not fitting)
Maternity clothes? I think I might look for something soon. Any suggestions on cute places to shop? Even the clothes that do technically fit me are getting uncomfortable. I find myself wanting to leave the house in yoga pants and huge, comfy VS t-shirts. (If you know me, you know I don't normally leave the house in things like this, so we know the situation is getting dire!)
Stretch marks? Nooo. I am using BioOil every day to help me NOT get them.
Sleep: Still wonderful.
Best moment this week: Hubby graduating WLC and finally being able to go to an appointment with me. We heard the heartbeat, and also heard baby kicking around in there. Oh! And I bought my first case of diapers. :)
Miss Anything? My favorite jeans.
Movement: Maybe.... It's weird, but I get these butterfly-ish feelings, and I'm not quite sure yet if that's what it is. I had a dr. appt this past Friday, and she said most first-timers start feeling movement soon or in the next couple weeks.
Food cravings: Same as usual. Burgers...Spicy food...twizzlers....
Anything making you queasy or sick: None this week.
Gender:  ??? Still...patiently...waiting....
Labor Signs: No way
Symptoms: Belly Button in or out? innie
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy :)
Looking forward to: Wearing maxi dresses all summer with my bump hangin out!
Showing?: When I wear a bikini, definitely.