Shower in Delaware

We just got back from a weekend trip up to Delaware for my baby shower. The weekend was amazing. I feel so spoiled and it reminded me even more how many people love us and more importantly our baby girl. The drive up Friday was pretty uneventful, we did stop at a local brewery, Evolution, so Jordan could pick up a growler of beer. I got an early gift Friday evening from my mom and sister, Mommy's Sippy Cup and a bottle of wine. Of course my sister reminded me that the wine was for later!!

 Don't worry, it was cranberry juice! Even still it felt good to be drinking out of a wine glass!!

Saturday morning, Jordan and I followed my dad to my baby shower brunch. It was held at Hartfield Country Club and my mom and sister outdid themselves. Everyone enjoyed breakfast/lunch, we played a few games, and I had the honor of opening all of Becca's gifts. I tried to think of it that way, because I hate being the center of attention and knowing it was for our little girl made it a little easier!!

 Diaper Cake

Megan and I

Me and my Mom

 Saturday evening some of my family and friends came over, we relaxed and celebrated a little more. Sunday we had the fun task of trying to pack up the car and then we headed home to Virginia. We had to get home to our babies, Chloe and Izzy!!

The Name Game

When we first found out we were expecting I started thinking about baby names. I never realized that it would be one of the hardest parts of the pregnancy. We talked about it every once and a while, but it usually ended in jokes about various names we would never dream of using. After we found out the sex, it was a little easier to narrow it down.

I of course had lists of names saved on the computer and I would mention them to Jordan every once and a while. We tried out a few names, but I think it was Jordan that ultimately came up with the one we chose, Rebecca Anne.

For a while, I thought we would try and keep it a secret until she was born. I'm usually okay at keeping secrets, but I wanted to share this with everyone. Plus I was afraid of letting it slip since that is what we call her now and I wanted to make sure we told our families first.

The first name has no special significance, but it fit what we were looking for in a name; it will grow with her and something different without being unusual. Rebecca is certainly not a name that is never heard, but we felt that it was also classic and not one of the more popular names currently. We plan on using the nickname, Becca. We chose the middle name after my Aunt Anne who passed away last February. She would be been so excited to have a great niece and I am glad we found a way to honor her.

**Disclaimer - We are 100% set in our name choice, but we reserve the right to make a change when she is born. **

32 weeks

Only 8 weeks left until my due date! I am so thankful that I have felt great this whole pregnancy. The last couple of weeks I have started having trouble sleeping through the night, but even that is not a consistent thing. And even more so I don't stay awake, typically I wake up, change sides and fall back asleep. All things considered I can't complain about that!!

32 weeks

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other than that, I am waiting for the nesting instinct to kick in. I know there is still purging, cleaning, organizing, and decorating I want to do. Just need to find the motivation!

Childbirth Class and Doctor Visits

Last Saturday we went to an all day childbirth class at the hospital where we'll be delivering. There were about 10 couples, most of which were due right around the same time in April. The instructor was really nice and informative. Throughout the day we basically went through the progression of labor. Signs of early/preterm labor, going to the hospital, unmedicated births, various types of medication and then things that happen after the baby has arrived. The last part of the class was comfort and relaxation techniques. We covered lots of topics and I know a lot seemed to go over our heads, but we both know when the time comes the information will come back to us.

Monday morning I had another routine doctors appointment. I am going every two weeks now, can't believe we are already at that point! Everything looks good though; gained another 2 pounds to put me at a total of 13, little girl's heartbeat was 141, passed my glucose test. All good news!!

Wednesday evening we went to visit a pediatricians office. The practice was recommended to us by the hospital and by a friend of mine. Seemed like a nice practice, there are a number of doctors there so we'll be able to see a few to figure out where we are most comfortable, plus they are affiliated with the local children's hospital, so the decision was pretty easy. Another thing checked off the continually changing list!

Peek a Boo

Last Friday night, Jordan and I went for our second 3D ultrasound.

It is really amazing how much detail you can see, however, our little girl was being a bit stubborn. She kept hiding her face from us with her hand. We did get a few good pictures and got to see lots of her over our 30ish minute session.

 It was funny because the ultrasound tech would be in 2D, where we got to see her yawning - so cute, and then as soon as she switched to 3D she'd cover her face up. She also looked like she was sucking her thumb or toes a couple times. Can't wait until we actually get to meet her!!

Nursery

Way back over Thanksgiving weekend, Jordan and I started to clean out the office. We did a pretty good job of getting most of it done but then the rest of the holiday season got in the way. My dad had talked about coming down to help paint and put up some chair rail for us, so we knew come January we would have to get a move on it. Turned out my mom could get some time off around MLK Day, so that end of January/early February visit ended up being a little sooner. We had our work cut out for us!

We also ended up finally deciding on a crib and changing table, so we got that order placed. Besides that we got everything cleared out of the room, got the carpets cleaned and picked out paint. We were finally set for our crew to arrive. We also got to spend Saturday putting the crib together, so it really started to feel like a nursery. Obviously a deadline works for us!

Before shot of empty room (from doorway)

Before shot of room (looking towards closet)

Putting together the crib. Only half of the parts! Jordan, of course, is getting help from Chloe and Izzy!

The crib all put together!

 My parents arrived on Sunday afternoon. After relaxing for a bit, Jordan and I watched the Packers playoff game and my parents started taping off the room. There seemed to be something wrong with that picture, but don't worry I made them a good dinner! The next morning they got started on the painting and Jordan and I were off to work. When we came home for lunch they had one coat done and were ready to start the second. By the time we got home that evening, the painting was finished and the chair rail was painted and ready to be hung the next day. We met Jordan's parents for dinner and then it was home to bed!

Tuesday was spent putting up the chair rail. I left early from work that day, so I could spend a little extra time with my parents. Plus my mom and I made a little trip to Babies R Us. It was so great to see the room with the chair rail up. Jordan and I were a bit worried (okay more me - I had several emotional breakdowns about the room, bedding, colors, etc.) about how everything would look together. Thankfully we loved it!!

After shot (from doorway)

After shot (looking towards closet)

Painted room with crib and changing table/dresser

Watch Me Grow

Not not me, the little one!

One of the Christmas gifts we received from my in-laws was a 2 visit package to get 3D ultrasounds done. The first visit is typically done to find out the gender (which we already knew) or a little earlier in the pregnancy. I called and we were able to get an appointment set up right away. The Friday after Christmas, Jordan and I went to get the 3D ultrasound done. Despite drinking a bottle of juice before hand the little one wasn't moving too much. The technician spent a lot of time with us (about 30 minutes, in what is supposed to be a 15 minute appointment) and was able to get her to move around some. We got some good shots of her face, it is amazing what technology can do. It seemed like she had really long legs from the angle we were looking at - not sure where she got those from! Stay tuned because we have our 2nd visit scheduled this today!!

The Second Trimester

My second trimester started around the beginning of October. As I've already mentioned the two biggest things that happened were starting to tell everyone and finding out we were having a girl. I continued to have a pretty easy pregnancy. I had a little bit more energy, but there wasn't a big change. Around 23 weeks I had to start looking for maternity clothes. I had been lucky up until that point in that I had lost weight prior to getting pregnant, so my clothes continued to fit. Finding comfortable pants was the most difficult, but once I did I could tell they made a big difference. It was also right around this time that I finally felt like I started getting a bump. Up until that point I just couldn't see a noticeable difference in myself.

The rest of the second trimester was similarly uneventful. I was still sleeping well. I did finally start gaining weight, which I am sure the holiday's helped with! I did catch the usual winter sinus head cold that had me worn out for about a week. I missed being able to take some good PM cold medicine that would knock me out at night.

Congratulations, It's a...

Girl!! So we found at about 15 weeks that it was a girl. We told a few people, but mostly kept it a secret until it was confirmed again at our next appointment. I felt like we just got one secret off our shoulders, but had another one to keep! The very first outfit I bought her was an Eagles cheerleader outfit from a consignment sale. That same week we also went out to buy her a Packers bib - trying to keep it equal. Poor thing is going to have a tough time picking a team to route for!


Jordan and I both fantasized about a little girl. Of course a happy, healthy baby is most important, but it seemed that in our plans for the future a girl was what we kept seeing. I could finally get started on thinking about the nursery and making plans for our registry.

The Secret is Out

Once we made it past the first trimester we finally felt more comfortable telling everyone. We started with close friends and then slowly let it come out in conversation. Never any big announcement. When we had an appointment around 11 weeks they didn't want to use the doppler because they were afraid it would be too early to hear the heartbeat and it would worry us. Either way we were worried!! So we were still worried a big announcement would jinx it. I had to really learn to trust my body and to stop being worried!

Our next appointment was on Halloween and we knew this time we would get to hear the heartbeat! Well when they tried to use the doppler they couldn't hear it. I was already worried and this really had me upset. They immediately sent me to get an ultrasound and sure enough there was the flickering heartbeat right away! So reassuring. The ultrasound tech asked us "since you've had your trick, would you like a Halloween treat," turns out she could make a good guess at the sex of the baby. It's a...

The First Trimester

For me the first 12 weeks seemed to fly by and I was lucky and felt great the whole time. The biggest challenge was keeping it a secret. We of course wanted to tell everyone, but also wait until we were in a safer period. I think the hardest weekend for me was going away for my sister in law's bachelorette party. I had just found out I was pregnant, had been to the doctors only hours before we left to go out of town and we were going to my favorite place Dewey Beach. I love every aspect of being able to drink in Dewey and not worry about driving anywhere and I couldn't drink. All weekend I had to mix my own "drinks", fake drink at the bar, turn down vodka soaked watermelon, and even worse couldn't tell anyone why! I felt like I was being shady the whole time!! Besides that one weekend most events it was a lot easier to keep our secret under wraps.

I think I had 4 or 5 doctors appointments during the first trimester and a number of internal ultrasounds to confirm the viability of the pregnancy. The wait between each appointment was the worst. It made it a little easier once we told our families because there was someone else to talk to. I continued to lose weight during the couple of months, which worried me some, but it made me feel good as well. As my mom mentioned cutting out the empty calories in wine, beer, soda, and eating healthier will do that to you!