Baby Update: 26 and 27 weeks

These last two weeks wrapped up the second trimester for me. Hard to believe we are 2/3 of the way to meeting little Baby K! I'm definitely feeling more pregnant lately (as if nausea, vomiting, and back aches weren't clues enough). I find myself making little grunting noises more often when I am rearranging myself in bed throughout the night and picking things up or reaching for things on the coffee table while sitting on the couch.

This last weekend we were lucky enough to have Kevin and Patti in town. While I have a separate blog post planned I decided to throw in a few things here since it is baby related. One of our missions was to find a dresser for the baby's room. I had one in mind from Ikea so we made the drive to go and get it. We spotted it on display right away but upon further investigation we found out it was temporarily oversold. Apparently this particular dresser was shown on some home show and every store was sold out of it in white. I was pretty bummed since we'd made the 2 hour drive just for that and now we were going to have to come back another time for it. We still had fun wandering around Ikea though because that place is awesome.

I started getting a little tired (I was wearing flip flops like a dummy and all the walking on concrete was not helping out). Kevin ran off for a minute and when he came back he had a wheelchair for me! At first I was thinking..."well this is embarrassing". Almost immediately after having that thought I then was more like "that actually looks really nice...I'll just sit down". Then I was like..."This is AMAZING and my husband rocks".

I was much happier at that point and I could have stayed all day. On the way toward the exit we had to walk (or wheel)  by the area where you pick up what you want to buy. Since I was being pushed I suggested we just go over to the area where the dresser would have been. As we came close we saw the most incredible thing....one last dresser, in white, sitting there waiting for us. Patti and I were pretty giddy at this point. We just couldn't believe there was one left just for us!!!

 We got home pretty late that night but Kevin and his Dad dove right in and started putting it together. There were so many pieces and would have taken forever...especially since I'm not as useful crawling around the floor as I used to be.

The men hard at work

 A picture of the final product! I love it! I plan on getting different knobs for the top row to add a little fun. This will also be our changing area so the decor is temporary until we get the changing pad. (note the awesome diaper cake)

A better view of our crib. It is storage for baby clothes and books right now...I'm still deciding on bedding, etc.

Grandma Koch's quilt

 I wasn't sure if I should put this picture in or not. The room is still a work in progress. We can't paint the walls so I debated forever on getting white furniture or not. I decided that by the time I add in a colorful rug and curtains plus other wall accessories that I can make it work. A rug is on order as we speak and I'm stalking the Internet for curtain ideas.

I love the light fixture we got at Ikea

I've been feeling pretty good overall. I definitely get tired much easier and I can slowly feel the exhaustion of the first trimester slowly creeping back. There have been a couple of bad moments but for the most part I can't complain too much. (Well...I can but I'm not going to).

At my doctor's appointment this week Baby K's heartbeat was once again 150 bpm. This week she is growing to approximately 16 in and 2.5 lbs.  I went in for blood work including the gestational diabetes screening test. That was on Tuesday and I haven't heard anything back yet. The doctor told me they wouldn't call unless my glucose was elevated so I'm hoping that I passed since it's been 3 days already. I'm now on to appointments every 2 weeks instead of every 4 weeks so that is kind of exciting. These last three months are going to go by so fast. With that being said...I'm going to go eat something and get back to hunting for curtains. Look for a couple more blog posts coming soon...

Hitchfest!

Once again I am behind on my blog posts. The last couple of weeks have been jam packed with visitors, traveling, and fun and I'm going to do my best to get caught up before I leave for Phoenix next week. Here it goes!

Labor day weekend meant travel for us to Canada to celebrate Colin and Andi's marriage. They were married at the San Francisco Courthouse back in April with their parents present but since they are both from Peterborough, ON they wanted to have a celebration for everyone back home. With Sarah and Jonathan in Boston, us in Michigan, and Brian and Moria moving to New York it worked out wonderfully for all of us to go!

Kevin and I had Moria for a couple of days before we started our drive. I accompanied Moria while she tried on some wedding dresses and we took in a Jason Mraz concert down closer to Ann Arbor. I didn't have my camera that day but when I get some pics from Moria I'll put them in a 'Summer Fun' post of things I haven't blogged about.

Once Kevin got off of work on Friday we started our drive to Toronto. It is only about a 4 1/2 hour drive from Midland. We wanted to eat at someplace 'uniquely Canadian' so we decided on Moose Winooski's.

Kevin and Moria enjoying the gorgeous weather!

We stayed at a hotel in the airport making it easy for Brian to get to us after arriving from his red eye flight from California. He had commitments until that Friday and that was the soonest he could get in. He grabbed a little sleep before we got ourselves ready and drove another 1 1/2 or so to Peterborough for the reception.

We made it! The reception was at the Harvey Homestead and everything looked beautiful! 

The guys together again!

 Of course we needed one of the ladies as well

The yard was filled with different activities such as corn hole, ladder ball, and croquet. 

I'm still amazed that it worked out so well for all of us to make it. Sarah and Jonathan had a little bit longer drive from Boston (10 hours) but I'm so glad they didn't let that stop them!

We are so happy for Colin and Andi. They have been together such a long time and have done much of it long distance. They are an amazing couple and we couldn't be happier for them.

Andi and Colin giving a thank you toast

 
It was hot out but the shade felt great and there was hardly a cloud in sight. It was fun getting to meet both Colin and Andi's families and getting to hear good stories from their childhood as well.

It's hard to believe it had been over a year since we had all been together at the same time. It truly felt like no time had passed at all. As the main party dwindled down a we all changed and a bbq began that took us into the evening. More delicious food and a bonfire complete with s'mores topped off a wonderful day. 

The next day we had breakfast back at our hotel in downtown Peterborough before heading out to a lake to spend the afternoon. Friends of Andi's have a cottage that they were kind enough to allow all of Andi and Colin's friends to use. 

The view was incredible and it was another perfect day.

After spending the afternoon relaxing the gang managed to get rid of me and Kevin for a little bit and set up for a surprise baby shower. (I have a separate post for this so we'll just skip over it for now)

We'd already said goodbye to Colin and Andi the night before but the rest of us had just enough time for breakfast in the morning before we had to hit the road to get back. Moria and Brian left with Sarah and Jonathan to continue their time off before settling into Ithaca, NY.

It was definitely sad saying goodbye again.

Jonathan and Sarah are getting married next July in Vermont so at least we know we'll all (hopefully) be together again in less than a year!

Lupin and the Chipmunk

Hello Everyone,

I think this is my third post on "our" blog, and I decided to post because I found a great picture.  This picture is a little bit older, but for several of Cara's blogging cycles it has been overlooked because it was stored on the nebulous internal camera memory instead of the memory card.

Lupin loves looking out the window in our door, and I love annoying Lupin, so I put a bird feeder outside our window.  I was thinking that I would get to see Lupin freak out when he saw birds coming up, but the creature that really pisses him off is the chipmunk.  I've taken to putting bird food right outside the window so that Lupin tries to figure how to go through the glass while the chipmunk happily fills his cheeks.  Here is a picture showing the start of Lupin's dance with the chipmunk that lives under our porch.

The next picture is a digital zoom in on the chipmunk.  This is the point in the dance when the chipmunk is deciding whether or not he wants to risk getting that close to the door.

As I said earlier this picture is a little dated, and I took it before my parents came up last weekend with my new pellet gun.  My next post will most likely be about chipmunk stew!

Cheers,

Kevin

Baby Update: 24 and 25 weeks

I wanted to try and get this post up before leaving for Canada is weekend. It may be shorter than normal but we'll see once I get started.

Another two weeks down! I can't believe that I only have a little bit left of my second trimester.  It's gone pretty fast and overall it has been pretty pleasant. Only 3 1/2 months left to go!!!

I was pretty excited about this garage sale find we made. I went for a walk one Friday morning and came across a few baby items at a sale. This activity center was priced at $25 and was in really good condition. It was originally $80 and I wasn't sure if they were asking too much for it or not. I didn't have any money on me anyway so I headed home to look up some reviews online and think about what it was worth. Kevin called me a little bit after that and needed me to come pick him up from work for a little bit. I told him about the item and we decided that $15 was a good price for it. We got some cash and Kevin did his negotiating magic and they sold it to us for $15. It has pretty good reviews and for the price I say it's perfect! Just needs cleaned and we'll be set!

Even Lupin liked it!

 In other exciting news....our crib arrived and we went about putting it together. By 'we' I mean mostly Kevin. I held a few things in place and tightened a few bolts but Kevin gets most of the credit.

 I couldn't get a great picture of it at the time (I'll get more up when the room is actually done). We're still working on clearing things out of the room and I didn't have a good spot to take the picture at that moment. We really like the crib though! Thanks Grandma Patti and Grandpa Kevin!

Baby K is in a growth spurt right now and is around 9.2 inches long and about 2 pounds. My fruit comparison for this week is an eggplant (although how they come up with some of these fruit/veggie sizes I don't really know). I haven't been feeling her as much or as strong lately. She moved positions and with my anterior placenta the blows are being muffled. She has also just switched her schedule around and is moving more in the middle of the night so I'm pretty sure I'm sleeping through it (I notice it when I wake up to pee at 2am and 5am). I did see my stomach move again a couple times last night which hadn't happened in a little bit. While I miss feeling her solidly every evening I've been told to enjoy this time because I might miss it when I get a giant kick to a rib later on.

I feel like I look huge in my 25 week picture compared to my 24 week picture. My last appointment two weeks ago I was up 10.25 pounds from week 7. The doctor seemed happy with the gain. I think I've packed on more since then but I decided to only use the office scale for my official weight so I have another couple weeks to see where I'm at.

Physically I'm pretty much feeling the same. I don't sleep amazing because of my bladder and lower back but I'm used to it now. Yoga truly has been amazing for me and I'm enjoying the prenatal yoga class I've started. I'm wondering what heartburn feels like. I felt a little off last night and took a tums and then I was fine. Not sure if it was actually heartburn...I feel like that is one of those 'you know it when you experience it' type of things. I wouldn't mind not having that pregnancy experience but let's not get picky.

I guess that's it for now but the bump watch is actually on now so I don't feel so silly posting all these pictures. 

Baby Update: 22 and 23 weeks

Yesterday marked the end of yet another week of pregnancy. It is crazy how fast things seem to be going now. I finally put a few belly pics up on Facebook after several requests for them. I guess I was waiting because I didn't really feel like there was much to see until recently. Looking back at my 11 week belly shot (if you can even call it that) I think...I look pregnant now!!!

Things have been going pretty well. Same story with the mucus vomit but according to my doctor that might just be one of the things that lasts for me the entire pregnancy. Lucky me! (but seriously...I can think of much worse things...I do have to remind myself of that during though). No nausea, but last night right before bed I had to throw up out of nowhere. Not fun. My face is still full of blackheads that could rival a teenager and I don't see that changing anytime soon.


Kevin has been my photographer and we thought it was his turn for a photo op.

Kevin at 22 weeks

I've been feeling our little lady moving around much more the last couple of weeks. She seems to be the most active at night (she really enjoyed it when we were watching the Olympics) which is nice because Kevin can enjoy feeling the movement too. I also notice her in the middle of the night when I wake up to use the bathroom and rearrange myself in bed. She even kicked at the Doppler yesterday at my doctor's appointment. I like to think she was saying "Get that thing away from me...I was sleeping". Right now she's about 8 in long and about 1.2 pounds. Weeks 24 to 28 mean big growth for baby too. She's expected to double in size over that period so I'm excited to see what I look like in 4 weeks and how strong her kicks will feel then!

My doctor's appointment went very well. Baby K's heartbeat was at 150 bpm and my uterus is measuring at 22cm. I guess you should be within 1cm of however many weeks you are. I'm 23 weeks so right on track. We've signed up for our "Preparing for Childbirth" classes through the hospital and we'll start those at the end of October. We're also going to take a breastfeeding, infant/child CPR, and baby boot camp class. (They had a 3 for 2 deal and are only 1 evening each) Before my next appointment in 4 weeks I get to go in for lab work including the gestational diabetes screening test. I'm not looking forward to drinking the sugar drink but everyone has to do it so I'll get through it. Hopefully I pass and don't have to do the 3 hour test!

Other pregnancy experiences I've had include: wondering if I just peed a little while coughing/sneezing/vomiting, going from feeling great to famished in a matter of minutes, feeling painfully full after a few bites when I was just famished 5 minutes ago, getting hot while sleeping, only sleeping a few hours at a time because I have to pee.

That's all I can think of right now but I'm sure there will be more soon enough!

Moria's Visit

A couple of weeks ago Kevin and I had a special treat because Moria was in Michigan. She had commitments in Ann Arbor but we drove down there one evening to pick her up and bring her up to Midland for a few days. Kevin had to work but it gave Moria and I a little girl time which was a lot of fun.

Moria treated me to a pedicure which was much needed and felt amazing!

With the Olympics on we decided to just grill out and enjoy each other's company. 

Kevin manning the grill

 The next day Moria accompanied me to yoga class before Moria's mom, Heather, made it to Midland. She drove up from Nashville to see Moria and check in on Moria's grandparents who live in Ann Arbor. They invited me to come down with them for a couple of days until Kevin could drive down on Saturday morning. It was fun hanging out in Ann Arbor and I had a great time with both of them!

When Kevin got in on Saturday morning we drove over to Chelsea which is where Moria lived and grew up before moving to Saline (closer to Ann Arbor). 

Heather, Kevin, and Moria in downtown Chelsea

 The downtown area was so cute and we had a fabulous lunch before checking out more of the city, including getting to drive by the house Moria lived in when she was little. Fun Fact: Chelsea is the home of "Jiffy Mixes" and the blueberry in the mixes is actually apple.

Heather and Moria also took us to this nature area that they used to visit frequently and we went on the "Bog Walk". Heather used to be a volunteer and took kids on the walk all the time so we got some extra fun facts. A bog is a type of wetland that forms in glacial lakebeds. It is a very acidic environment and only certain plants are able to grow in it including lots of peat and mosses. The bog has a layer of growth over the top but it doesn't go all the way down so it was a spongy like surface. We got to stand on one part and when you jump or bounce you can see the surface moving. It was really cool to see the area and it was even better having two bog experts in our midst. 

Bog Walk!

After driving by a few more places important to Moria as a child it was time for us to head back to Midland. Moria and her mom were going to spend some more time with her grandparents and then she had an early flight back to California the next day.

We were sad to say goodbye but we'll get to see Moria again at the end of the month. Brian and Moria are moving to Ithaca, New York for their post-docs and the move includes a trip to Peterborough, Canada where we will be going to Colin and Andi's wedding reception. Both Sarah and Jonathan (who just got engaged...yay!) will also be there so we look forward to a mini California reunion!!!

Baby Update: 20 and 21 weeks

The last couple weeks have been pretty great. I'm feeling pretty awesome right now for the most part and I'm so grateful for this second trimester. I still get the occasional "mucus vomit" and I've had one random run to a trash can to throw up but there isn't any nausea and that alone is wonderful.

I'm taking a yoga class at the community center twice a week and that has been a lifesaver for me. It really helps out my lower back and I feel better overall doing the class regularly. My instructor is going to be out of town for a couple weeks this month and I'm bummed to miss. Cindy is awesome. She gives me prenatal modifications when needed and throws in hip openers to class sometimes with me in mind. I love her! Luckily she put me into contact with a lady who is doing a prenatal yoga class in town for a few weeks while she has studio access so I'm looking forward to that. It will be fun to meet a few other pregnant ladies in town and learn some more moves custom made for us.

Besides yoga, Kevin and I are trying to swim a little bit. The pool hours are a little strange so it is intermittent but we have fun when we go and it mixes things up. We take walks when the weather is nice and I'm putting the cardio equipment at the community center to use as well. I just have to make sure not to push it too hard or I pay for it the next day.

A week and a half or so ago I felt a few twitches that I thought could possibly be baby movements. They were very light and brief so I couldn't be sure. Well, this last Thursday and Friday I felt them again, a little stronger and for a longer period of time so I was pretty sure it was the baby. Then last night we were sitting on the couch watching the Olympics. I was looking down at my stomach and all of a sudden I saw it move a little bit! I was a little surprised so I kept looking and it did it again. I told Kevin and then he saw it so I knew I wasn't seeing things. He put his hand there and could definitely feel it. Baby K kicked a few more times and it was incredible. I'd heard that with an anterior placenta the "flutters" are sometimes non existent and you go straight to feeling the kicks. I tried pressing on her in the spot where we saw the movement and I managed to get a little more out of her but then the dance party was over. I look forward to many more of these kicks and feeling them get stronger and stronger!

I think there is an actual bump now as well. Even since taking this picture last Wednesday I feel I'm showing a little more. I don't officially need maternity clothes yet since I can still wear my dresses and a couple pairs of jeans but I have started wearing my one pair of maternity capris. They are so much more comfortable and I feel like I actually look pregnant in them instead of a heavy brownie eater.

According to my "What to Expect" app, Baby K is about 8 inches long and around 1 pound...think spaghetti squash. Her sense of touch and sight are developing and her eyelashes and eyebrows should be well formed now too. We're over halfway to getting to see what she looks like! Whoooo hoooo!