Ergo

I've heard amazing things about the Ergo brand of baby carriers, they're comfortable for mom and don't hurt the baby like some other brands have been known to do. The problem? They're pretty expensive, in my opinion. We haven't registered yet but I started a private wishlist on the Babies R Us website and had bookmarked a blue ERGObaby Sport. It was one of those things that I really would love to get but almost felt guilty registering for since everyone in my family has been perfectly happy with their Baby Bjorn which is a significant amount cheaper.

Luckily for me, I totally stalk www.babysteals.com for good deals and the steal of the day happens to be from Ergo! Babies R Us has the exact same carrier for $114.99. Me? I paid $57.75! I can't wait for it to be shipped to me!!! Watch out Gizmo, you are the perfect size for me to try out in the carrier!

Weekly Check-In (23 weeks)

How far along? 23 weeks, 5 days
Weight gain/loss: +13lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yup, all pants (except sweats) and most shirts.
Sleep? I had been sleeping great!Best moment this past week? Having Bill feel the baby move from the outside :)
Sex: We're having a boy!
Belly button in or out? In, but getting more shallow.
Movement: I'm feeling more and more every day. It's starting to get stronger too.
What I miss? Hmmm, nothing much this week, I'm just excited!
What I'm looking forward to this week: My friend Melissa is coming to visit! She was supposed to come up to Syracuse a couple of weeks ago but ended up getting sick.
Milestones: From babygaga.com, "Your little womb hi-jacker is starting to kick their break-dance party up a notch now that his/her ears are registering sounds from the outside world!"
Picture (from yesterday):In other baby news, we finally finished painting the baby room! The wall behind me in my bump picture is the color. I love it, it's very neutral. I also got a huge burst of energy this past week while on vacation from work and put together the dresser and the changing table. They are perfect! The one complaint I have though is that the room is pretty small and I'm not sure we'll be able to fit the dresser, changer, crib, and a glider in there. We'll see once we get the crib put together and everything situated but I'm starting to worry. The room we are using is not technically a bedroom since there is no closet. We have another bedroom but the windows need to be replaced and it currently houses the litter box. I'm sure we could get the room ready in time for the baby but Bill insisted that this room is better. It's definitely in better shape but I'm starting to worry that we made the wrong choice.

Here are some more pictures:

The newly painted walls.

The new furniture.

Hoppy Easter!

Happy Easter! Baby boy decided to celebrate by letting Bill feel him kick for the first time :)

Feeling kicks

The baby has been kicking up a storm this week! It's so cool to feel :) He's kicking my bladder and making me pee more often but I'm okay with that because just sitting there feeling him move is so amazing. I felt him kick from the outside on Sunday and it was cool but I was battling a stomach bug and it was really more of a pain than exciting since every time he kicked, my stomach would lurch. For the past couple of days though, as soon as he starts kicking I yell to Bill to come put his hand on my belly. As soon as he does though, the baby seems to calm down and stop. It's kind of humorous to me! He'll be practically doing back flips then Bill will put his hand on my belly right where mine was and he'll stop!

Last night before we went to sleep, we laid in bed for a full half hour watching TV with Bill's hand on my belly and he never moved. As soon as he took his hand off, the baby started doing the can-can! I told Bill that all this means is he's has a calming effect on the baby and after he is born, as soon as he starts getting fussy, I'll give the baby to him and he'll calm down! Sweet! lol I know that as small kids, my dad could pick my sister and I up and move us around when we were asleep and my mom never could without waking us up. Maybe our baby will be just like me.

Secrets, secrets are no fun...

Bill and I decided before we even picked a name that we were going to keep it a secret. We wanted to make sure that the name we picked was the one we really loved and needed to sit on it for a while to make sure. We also didn't want the comments that our families are known to make, anything from "oh I hate that name" to "I knew someone with that name who was a _____" to "oh that's a great name but did you think of _____? That one is so much better." My poor cousin and his wife went through all of that and more while expecting their first child. Finally they just closed their mouths and announced their final decision once Henry David was born.

We love the name we picked and aren't keeping it a secret because it's strange or anything, it's a top 100 name, we just don't want the comments. The thing I'm struggling with though, is now that we've picked our name, I like to talk to him and call him by name. When he kicks really hard I find myself saying, "ouch _____ that hurt!" I like to call him by a human name, not just the baby. But I know myself and if I get too used to it, I'll slip up in front of other people and my family and friends just suck at keeping secrets.

So for now, we just tell people that we haven't decided yet. No one has really pushed it, probably because we just found out we are having a boy 2 weeks ago. I'm sure once my due date starts getting closer, we'll have to come up with a better line. I plan on denying that we have a name for as long as possible, I hate lying but if people know we have a name, they will push so hard and I know I'll break at some point!

Weekly Check-In (22 weeks)

How far along? 22 weeks, 5 days
Weight gain/loss: +10lbs. down 2 pounds from last week but I had a stomach bug yesterday so I'm assuming it will go back up once I'm able to eat.
Maternity clothes? Yup, all pants (except sweats) and most shirts.
Sleep? I had been sleeping great!
Best moment this past week? Feeling the baby move from the outside.
Sex: We're having a boy!
Belly button in or out? In, but getting more shallow, Bill thinks it's going to pop by the end of this week. Eeek!
Movement: I'm feeling more and more every day. It's starting to get stronger too. I can't wait for Bill to be able to feel it!
What I miss? Hmmm, nothing much this week, I'm just excited!
What I'm looking forward to this week: I'm on spring break from work so my plan is to finish painting the trim in the baby room and hopefully start getting the furniture put together.
Milestones: From babygaga.com, "You’re now housing a human who weighs nearly a pound and measures nearly a foot in length! Your wee babe's perfect little pancreas (a super-duper organ that produces hormones and aids in digestion) is now making its own hormones for your baby's body and brain!"

22 week picture:

Weekly Check-In (21 weeks)

How far along? 21 weeks, 5 days
Weight gain/loss: +12lbs. and trying to stay under control but I'm so hungry!
Maternity clothes? Yup, all pants (except sweats) and a lot of shirts.
Sleep? I had been sleeping great until tonight. It's 4am and I've been awake for an hour. I finally just got up and got a few things done. I don't feel that tired but I'm sure I'll be exhausted by the end of my work day.
Best moment this past week? Finding out we're having a boy!!!
Sex: Male!!!
Belly button in or out? In, but getting more shallow.
Movement: I'm feeling more and more every day. It's starting to get stronger too. I can't wait for Bill to be able to feel it!
What I miss? Not gaining weight. I have to admit that I never thought I'd be the type to care once I was pregnant but I keep picturing myself going back to work after having our baby and having no clothes that fit because I got so big.
What I'm looking forward to this week: Working on the baby room and my friend Melissa is coming to stay with us for her wedding dress fitting.
Milestones: From babygaga.com, "we’re pleased to report the addition of rapid eye movement (REM); a key component to any healthy baby's sleep schedule, that indicates they're now capable of dreaming. Over in the dermatology department: your sweet lil bun's thin soft skin is very red, rather translucent, and a bit wrinkled. Not to worry, it’s not some creepy premature aging disease. It's just their clever little body setting them up with extra space that will smooth out once your little one starts packing on the baby-fat."

Picture: will post later.

ps. We think we picked a name! We're "sitting on it for a bit while we make sure it's the name we really want to use though so we aren't telling anyone. We may not tell anyone until I give birth anyway!

We're having a....

Boy!!! We went to the anatomy scan yesterday at 2:00 and the tech started right away. First she looked at my cervix and then showed us the baby's brain. She said she was going to work down from the top so I settled in to see my beautiful baby for a bit. She did lots of measurements and got a great shot of the four chambers of the heart. She did have to bop my belly a bit because our baby had his arm over his chest and was blocking the heart! Next she looked at the belly and the kidneys. Then she asked if we wanted to know the sex, after I said yes, I thought we'd go there next and got major butterflies! Bill grabbed my hand with his clammy one and we held our breath! Of course she then took measurements of the femur and showed us the feet kicking away (so cute!) then finally I saw the little horseshoe shape of the legs and bottom. At first I didn't see anything so I thought it was a girl, then it looked like something was there, then it disappeared and I had no clue! After a couple of attempts, she got a clear shot and said, "well that's a penis so it's a boy!" Bill did a small happy dance and I burst into tears!
After the scan, we met with the midwife in the practice and she told us that all of the measurements were perfect and talked to me a little about some questions I had (leg cramps at night, she told me to take a calcium supplement) and off we went!

We went and got an opaque bin, some blue balloons, and some I love Grandma and I love Grandpa bibs for our parents and spread the news!
We are so excited! Now we have to start talking about boy names!

Here's the best profile picture the tech was about to get:

Eeeeeeeeeee

7 hours until our anatomy scan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weekly Check-In (20 weeks)

How far along? 20 weeks, 5 days
Weight gain/loss: +10lbs. which is that same as last week, thank God!
Maternity clothes? Yup, all pants (except sweats) and a lot of shirts.
Sleep? I'm finally awake!
Best moment this past week? Feeling the baby moving like crazy and getting the first coat of paint on the walls of the baby room.
Sex: The big scan is tomorrow!!!
Belly button in or out? In, but getting more shallow.
Movement: Some days, tons.
What I miss? I feel like a lush admitting this but I really want a drink. I also really want a turkey sub.
What I'm looking forward to this week: Anatomy scan tomorrow!
Milestones: From babygaga.com, "Your little womb-dancer also has teeth buds sprouting beneath their gum line. And finally! Your wee one's limbs have reached their relative proportions — no more bobble-head! Their little pink lips are more defined, and might be helping out in a bit of prenatal thumb-sucking...And in a final anti-alien development: the first of their tiny eyelashes and eyebrows are now present."

20 week picture: