A Name and a Nursery

We've picked out the nursery theme for the baby, and Dave has picked a name. For some reason I can't get a picture of the nursery stuff to post here, but here's a link where you can see it: http://tinyurl.com/22tvh2

We went to the baby store yeserday (where you buy stuff for the baby, not actual babies) and bought the baby its's first stuff (bedding, a lamp, wall hangings) in this pattern. Now we can use it to pick a paint color for the room--light green? light khaki? Any advice?

Today we're going to start our registry, which seems a little overwhelming but could be fun. We'll see.

So Dave had a dream that we had the baby and it was a boy (that means all of our dreams now except for one have been boy dreams, for those of you who believe in predicting the gender that way). Anyway, he was shocked to find out that I had named the baby when he wasn't paying attention . . . and the name was . . . drumroll please . . . . . . . Waterset. Yes, Waterset. He has no idea where he came up with that one, but I think it's hysterical. So now we call the baby Waterset :)

Waterset's Update

We're now 22 weeks along, and Waterset likes to move around a lot. The other night we watched Chicago, and every time a musical number started, Waterset would start kicking and wiggling. The other day the movements were big enough that we could actually see my stomach move. It still moves mostly when I'm sitting down, but over the next few weeks I think we'll be at the point where everyone can feel it. According to most of the websites, Waterset now weighs just under 1 lb.

Dave felt the baby kick!

Yesterday Dave finally felt the baby kick! I had tried a couple of times this week to get him to feel it, but no luck, so it was very exciting when he got a good kick!

(Note: The baby is still small, and likes to kick very low, so to feel the kicks your hand would have to be in a somewhat questionable position. Therefore, do not get excited that you too can feel the kicks from this point on. I'd say in another 2-3 weeks kicks may be open to the public, but not quite yet.)

Our life in pictures

So the camera cord has been found, and here are some pictures of life recently:

Moving was a lot of work.

All of the dust made me miserably congested and sick, so Dave ran out to the drugstore (scoring major points) to get me a steam machine (since I was trying to avoid medicine). He then negated all of the points he had scored by taking this picture.

Here are some pictures of the master bedroom suite in the apartment. Pics of the rest of the apartment will come soon.

The office (Dave built it himself-no joke):

The sitting area:

The "inner" bedroom- separated from the office & sitting area by double doors (please ignore the fact that the bed's not made and the bedskirt isn't on yet):

The master closet

The master bathroom (look, we have one of those showers with all of the nozzles, like a car wash!)

And here I am, after getting home from work today. I definitely look pregnant now. I'll have to get another picture of my width, but I wasn't sure if it would fit in the frame.

And here's the little baby at 20 weeks along. It has a huge head---I showed this pic to the kids at school and they seemed terrified by its giant head. The little thing next to the head is the hand-we think it was sucking its thumb.

I'm trying

Really, I am. I know that people want to see pictures--of my ever-expanding girth, of the most recent ultrasound, of the new apartment . . . I even took some pictures. But I need to find the camera cord so that I can upload them. It's on my (long) list of projects for today--I'll see what I can do.

Baby Update

I'm now 20 weeks along---which is very exciting, because we're halfway there! At take 2 of the anatomy ultrasound last week we saw that everything was perfect with the baby---although the baby is very active. Both the midwife and the ultrasound tech commented on how the baby is moving constantly. I can feel it many times a day, mostly when I'm sitting down. Dave hasn't been able to feel it from the outside yet, but I'm sure he will soon.

And the baby is now measurable from head to heel (since it can stretch its legs a bit more) and it is 10 inches long! (That seems pretty big to me).

If you're into guessing based on the heartrate, it's moved up a little bit. In the past week or so it's been between 146 and 158.

Moving Day and neighborly advice

Today I came across a big pile of tests that I brought home to grade over break. How in the world did I think that I would have the time to get anything done with moving? Maybe moving is like birth---over time the memory of how awful it is fades, so that you're stupid enough to do it again in the future (so I've heard). I fully expect today to be miserable and filled with snags and complications, but at least at the end of the day we won't have to commute to our other apartment to sleep--that's what we've been doing all week and it stinks.

Here's my best story this week. I enter the new building behind some other guy, and we both get in the elevator. I press the button for "4" and say to him "Which floor?" to which he replies "That's it-4" and smiles (people have been really friendly up there so far). Here's the rest of the conversation:

Me: "Oh, do you live on the 4th floor?"
Him: "No, I'm just doing some work there" (he looks like a contractor)
Me: "Ah." (thinking I should explain my possibly intrusive inquiry) "We just moved in on that floor and I'm just interested to meet the neighbors." (smile)
Him: (nods . . . about a 3 second pause . . .) "Sometimes the neighbors don't want to be met"

(cue dramatic horror movie music, lights flickering, etc)

How creepy was that? I brushed it off with small talk and moved on, but I nearly burst out laughing. I wish I could've just responded with something equally vague and foreboding . . . "Sometimes the neighbors should make an effort, or they might regret it."

In other notes:
-Christmas was fantastic. We had a lot of fun with the family, Collin is just old enough to kind of get the whole Christmas thing. Everyone was overly generous too.
-We had a frustrating ultrasound yesterday. All of the measurements came back normal (although the baby is measuring 1 week small) except that the baby was so tucked in and curled up (and NOT interested in moving) that they could only get half of the measurements they needed. So we go back in one week for another ultrasound.

Moving

The moving has begun.

On one hand, we are so lucky to be off this week---it allows us the time to move in reasonable chunks. On the other hand, I can't believe that we're going to spend this week moving (and cleaning, organizing, shopping, packing, etc) and then suddenly we'll be back at work and my break will be gone.

The moving started yesterday-my parents came to help and Dave was amazed by how much work they can do. Dave & my dad moved everything we had packed from the apartment, our storage downstairs, and Dave's parents' storage bin--while my mom and I went to breakfast, shopping for cleaning supplies, and then my mom set to work cleaning the new apartment.

This move stinks for me because I can't lift anything, I can't be exposed to too many chemicals (so that limits the cleaning) and I just feel useless. Also, around 3 or 4 everyday now my legs hurt. A lot. Enough that I need to sit down and rest.

On the upside, the new apartment is AMAZING. It's huge, it's beautiful, it's so so nice :) Once we're in there (Friday is when our furniture is going up) it will be lovely to live there.

Oh, I also haven't gotten any shopping done for Christmas. So I guess I'll be going out today and tomorrow to shop.

Baby Update

The baby is about 5 1/2 inches long. I feel it kicking usually once or twice a day--but only when I'm sitting or lying down (so I never really feel it at work). It's not strong enough to feel from the outside, so Dave hasn't felt it yet. It can definitely hear now, so I put headphones on my belly and play it music. And it's around 5 1/2" long. According to one website, it's the size od a sweet potato. Where do they come up with this stuff?

*Update*

Ok, now we're not getting the keys tonight. We're getting them on Friday instead. The sellers need one more day to clear out---but we're booked with working late tomorrow, so we'll wait until Friday to get the keys.

Also, Dave has been a fantastic husband for my birthday (wait-that doesn't look right---he's always fantastic, but he's doing great birthday things for me too). He decorated my classroom, sent me flowers, and covered my lunch duty with the kids!

-----News in Brief-----

This last week of work before Christmas break is always so busy that I don't really have any time to update stuff here. So here are the headlines for now . . .

1. We closed on our new apartment! I'm now a homeowner (and until we close on selling this place, Dave actually owns 2 apartments)! We are meeting with the realtor tonight in Riverdale to do the official walk-through and get the keys to our new place :)

2. I've felt the baby move a few times, but it's certainly not regular. I can only feel it if I'm sitting still and paying attention, which certainly doesn't happen at work very often.

3. Today's my birthday :) Happy Birthday to me!

4. As a birthday present, I bought myself a doppler (it's like a little microscope that attaches to a speaker---I put it on my belly and we can listen to the baby's heartbeat). It's way fun and I used it last night---the baby's heartrate was 142.

So our break will be filled with packing and moving madness--a big challenge for me, as I like to get in there and do everything, so I need to keep telling myself not to lift heavy things, etc.

Oh--highlight of my week so far: I return to school yesterday (the closing was Monday, so we weren't at work). After 3 days of not seeing my, some of the kids eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their head--my stomach is really expanding! A 6th grade boy who sits right in front of me says, as we're starting class: "Mrs. Nieder, this has nothing to do with science, but your stomach has gotten a lot wider!" What the hell?! I guess this is the one time in life when people are allowed to say these things? If I see you over the holidays you better get your wide comments in now, because they won't be so funny starting the day after the baby is born.

Hey! I felt that!

I felt the baby kick (or punch or something)!

I few times this week I thought that I felt a little something, but it came and went so quickly that it could have just been my imagination. Folks had suggested lying down and pressing gently on my belly to get the baby to kick back--I've been trying everyday, but nothing happened.

This morning I tried again and felt a very distinct little thump in return---not only could I feel it from the inside, but I could actually feel it hit my hand too!

I think there's really someone in there :)

16 week Update & a Dream

Baby Update-16 weeks

At 4 1/2 inches long-ish (head to bottom), the baby is about the size of an avocado (I remember being 4 weeks along, when it was the size of a poppy seed, so it's grown a lot!) The next two weeks will be a big growth spurt, which must be why I'm hungry and exhausted again. Its ears are in the proper place and it can hear sounds from outside the body as well as inside, so it's time to start talking to it, although I feel a little stupid doing so. Although closed, its eyes are moving (slowly), and it's even started growing toenails. Facial muscles now make it possible for the baby to make a varitey of faces/expressions.

All the websites say that this is when I could start feeling the baby move, but I haven't felt anything yet. 18-20 weeks is more common-and that will my right at my birthday & Christmas time. Feeling it move around would be a good present!

Most disgusting new baby fact: The baby is now emptying its bladder every 30-45 minutes. I have something peeing inside of me. Gross.

I had a dream about the baby last night--nothing exciting, but it was a boy. He had brown, curly hair and big eyes. I know that there are some folks out there who put a lot of stock in pregnant mom dreams, so I'm just providing you with the facts, in case anyone wants to change their gender prediction.

More stuff to come soon, I hope---it's hard to update this when I'm so tired. But I wanted to give the 16 week baby growth update before we were done with week 16.