22 Weeks

How far along? 22 Weeks 5 days

Baby Length:  11  inches long

Baby Weight:  almost 1 lb!

Baby is as long as:  A Spaghetti Squash

Weight gain/loss:  Up another few lbs somehow. 130 lbs to 143.6 lbs - most of which is still in my butt and thighs.  Not a good look since my bump is still relatively small.. 

Maternity clothes?  Still working the rotation of about 8 flowy dresses and maxi dresses I have!
Stretch marks?  No new ones as of yet.
Sleeping?  We swapped out our mattress because it was sagging and still under warranty for a Beautyrest Black Ultra Plush...sleep has definitely improved.  Its nice, real nice.  I'm still using the basic body pillow and wondering when it will be time to whip out the Snoogle Pregnancy pillow.  And no, I didn't make up the name Snoogle. That's actually what they decided to call it.

Best moment this week: I got a 90 minute prenatal massage on Tuesday.  It was awesome.

Miss anything? Relaxing.
Feel any movement? Movements have definitely gotten stronger.  Its crazy to feel the baby flip flopping around in there!

Food cravings: Sweets.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Feeling pretty good these days!

Gender: Nursery is going to be Gray, White and Yellow or Green.  So that's a no.

Labor Signs: None.
Symptoms: Terrible lower back pain.  Sitting or standing for a long period of time is rough - especially driving in the car for extended periods.
Belly Button? In
Wedding rings? On but tight.
Happy or Moody? Up and down this week.  Some days excited and happy, other days stressed & overwhelmed by everything we have to do in the next few months!  I never thought I could be so indecisive about how to paint and carpet the new house!  We are going for a very neutral palette and I knew I wanted white and gray stripes in the baby's nursery (we're doing white, gray and yellow)...but then the question becomes how white do you go with trim??  And do you paint bathroom cabinets that white?  And what color carpet goes with gray?  And what about the other bedrooms??  Ahhhhh!


Here are a few pics that gave me inspiration:

And me at 22 weeks 5 days:

21 Weeks

How far along? 21 Weeks 4 days

Baby Length:  about 10 1/2 inches long

Baby Weight:  around 3/4 of a pound

Baby is as long as:  A Carrot

Weight gain/loss: I have some fluctuation day to day...up a lb then down a lb, but overall I am still up about 10 lbs. Total gain is 10.4 lbs since pre-pregnancy 130 lbs to 140.4 lbs - most of which is in my backside. 

Maternity clothes?  Nope
Stretch marks? I feel like the ones on my butt from earlier in life have gotten a little worse, but no new ones on the belly.
Sleeping?  Sleeping okay these days.  I still wake up quite a few times to pee or roll over, but the sleep seems like good sleep.  I wake up early and have a hard time falling back asleep sometimes.
Best moment this week: This week has been a rough one with all the stress at the new house.  I'd have to say the best moment was when I scheduled a pregnancy massage today for next Tuesday.  That will be nice.

Miss anything? Not being stressed out with a to do list that doesn't quit.
Feel any movement? Some days more than others.  I will have days where the baby is all over the place, and then the next day there is little to no movement.  I'm trying not to let this create worry as I've heard its very normal at this stage to have unpredictable baby activity.

Food cravings: Ben & Jerry's Greek Frozen Yogurt.  You have to try this stuff!!  Expensive, but so delicious...and it has less fat that regular ice cream with 6 grams of Protein per serving.  And since I'm eating 2 servings any time I have it :) I'm getting at least 12 grams of protein!  My favorites so far have been the Strawberry short cake and the Raspberry Fudge Chunk.  Yum! Yum! Yum!  Weight gain will surely resume this week thanks to Ben and/or Jerry.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Feeling pretty good these days!

Gender: Jake still thinks its a girl but we elected not to find out the baby's sex at the scan.  Dr. Mann did confirm that the baby's "good" looked perfect appropriate.
Labor Signs: None.
Symptoms: Bloated, Cellulitey, a Break-out here and there and STRESSED OUT!  Damn short sales!
Belly Button? In
Wedding rings? On and fitting a bit better.
Happy or Moody? Happy and Blessed.  But very very stressed these days.  The new house we purchased is going to be great someday...and we're trying to make a lot of improvements up front, but unfortunately, we just can't afford to do it all.  The house was designed with too much space in rooms you don't need it and not enough space in rooms where you do.  We also had the addition of the AC not being able to cool the house (we have 3 units and all of them are from the 80's) and the city of Atlanta wouldn't leave the water on because they said the meter was running due to a leak.  So we have a plumber come out and low and behold we have a water main break/leak somewhere in the front yard near the house.  We purchased a home warranty from American Home Shield thinking that would somewhat protect us from the unknown stuff going wrong at a house that we knew hadn't been well-maintained for years, but we are learning very quickly that the home warranty really covers NOTHING! If your AC is running...really if it isn't blowing much cool air, they say that is functioning and not covered.  A water leak from a pipe a few feet off your house...even though its technically part of your house....isn't covered because its outside the foundation of the home.  The fine print goes on and on and on.  It will all work out, it just makes for a very bumpy ride!


Please excuse the big zit on my chin!

20 Week Anatomy Scan

So Long Smyrna

We close on our house that we are selling in Smyrna tomorrow morning.  I'm feeling a bit sentimental about the whole thing since this was my house as a single gal before Jake came into my life.  We are definitely ready to move on to our new home, but we thought we should snap a few shots of our home to remember the house where our first baby was conceived.

Jake also wanted to document his Knockout Rosebushes.  He is so proud of how big and beautiful they've grown.  We'll be renting the house back from our buyer for a month and so it will be a somewhat anti-climatic home closing tomorrow, but it will feel good to financially be free of the 3rd mortgage payment!

 

Halfway Baked! (aka 20 weeks)

How far along? 20 Weeks 2 days

Baby Length:  around 6 1/2 inches Head to Bottom or 10 inches Head to Heel

Baby Weight:  about 10 1/2 ounces

Baby is as long as:  A Banana 

Weight gain/loss: Still up 10.2 lbs since pre-pregnancy (130 lbs to 140.2 lbs). Maybe the gaining will slow a bit??

Maternity clothes?  Not yet...lets see how long I can hold out before I rip the seams to all of my favorite summer dresses.
Stretch marks? Nada
Sleeping?  I toss and turn a bit and get up a few times a night, but I feel like I am not getting up as frequently as before.  I could sleep 10 hours every night though.
Best moment this week: Hitting halfway!  There is some psychological sense of accomplishment is hitting the halfway point.  It's still going to be a very long, hot summer, but I feel a sense of comfort that all is well with the little "Nashable".

Miss anything? Being able to walk Sammy without getting out of breath.  I was on the phone with a friend Alex walking Sammy last night and I was huffing and puffing walking up a hill like I was on Level 10 on the treadmill.  Makes you feel a little pathetic.
Feel any movement? There has been more and more movement this week :) and the baby loves to do its little dances when I'm laying down for bed at the end of the night.  I do notice it sometimes during the day if I am sitting still at the table doing work for a while.  Sometimes I confuse the baby movement with little stomach rumblings, so I notice it most when I am sitting quietly and focusing on it.
Food cravings: Still not really craving anything.  I think it may be time to go out to dinner for steak again.  I haven't had red meat in a while.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not feeling sick this week.  I am dizzy from time to time, but my nurse thinks its because I'm not drinking enough water.
Gender: The anatomy scan is tomorrow afternoon.  I would like to hold out for the surprise, but I've heard it can be hard to avoid the "goods" since the baby moves around quite a bit.  I'd like to try if we can!  
Labor Signs: None.
Symptoms: Bloated, crampy, and dizziness from time to time.  The lower back hasn't been bothering me as much this week.
Belly Button? In
Wedding rings? On but still tight at the end of the day and first thing in the morning.
Happy or Moody? Happy!  I do feel some stress and anxiety because of everything that needs to get done in the next 3 months.  We own our new house, we close on the house we are selling on Monday, June 18, we rent back from her until around July 20th, then we pack up all of our stuff and put it in storage for a few months while we live in a short tern rental in Virginia Highlands until around September 20.  During this time we hopefully do all the demolition, construction and repairs to the new place and get a nursery ready in time for baby Nash's arrival in October.  We have never owned an old house, or a house that requires so much "maintenance".  We have to have trees taken out and trimmed, find a pool guy, hire a landscaping guy, hire mosquito treatment people...the list goes on and on.  The money is draining out of our accounts, but I think the end result will be a wonderful place to settle in and start a family!

Picture coming tonight...

Jake teases me for sucking in during the weekly photo shoot...so I gave him one with a relaxed belly!

The New House!

It's ours!  For the next week we officially own 3 houses.  Its a very overwhelming thought!  We sell our house we are living in now on 6/18, and then we have Jake's old house from before we were married rented out for 2 years.  We are very excited about our new "Nash Family Home," though, and have some really exciting renovation plans for our new place.  We thought the project would be done in a few weeks (I guess we watch too much HGTV where they flip a house in 2 weeks!) but its going to take more like 3 months.  So, this has officially become our BEAT THE BABY PROJECT!

It needs alot of work, but its in a great neighborhood and has good bones.  We have a pool and a Koi Pond with waterfall in the back, too...

I love the quietness of the culdesac.  And the view from the front entry isn't too shabby either ;)

19 Weeks

How far along? 19 Weeks 4 days

Baby Length:  approximately 6 inches (that's half a foot!)

Baby Weight:  about 8 1/2 ounces

Baby is size of:  A Large Heirloom Tomato  

Weight gain/loss: Up of 10.2 lbs since pre-pregnancy (130 lbs to 140.2 lbs). Broke 140 lbs.  Yeehaw!

Maternity clothes?  Fighting them!  I'm busting out of my maxi dresses because my bust is so full.  One of my favorite I.N.C. dresses is literally splitting in the middle from my new cleavage.
Stretch marks? Nope.  Lotion lotion lotion. And repeat.
Sleeping?  I'm sleeping but not great.
Best moment this week: Jake and I bought a house today!  Until June 18th we officially own 3 houses...crap!  Seriously, though, we are so excited about the purchase of our new home in Sandy Springs and now we just need to figure out where we're going to live this summer after we get kicked out of ours in July until the new house renovations are done in September or October...and yes, I remember that the baby is due in October.
Miss anything? Wine.  I really miss my wine.
Feel any movement? YES!!  I feel little kicks and punches frequently.  Sometimes it feels like I can feel the baby "swimming" from one side of my belly to the other.  The little movements are close enough to the surface that Jake has been able to feel them sometimes, too.  Its such a weird feeling but I love it :)
Food cravings: No.  I've had some weird food aversions this week.  I'll eat, but nothing really sounds good and stuff kinda grosses me out.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Food.  But I keep eating anyway.
Gender: The big scan is next week and I think we've decided with certainty not to find out and keep the baby's sex a surprise.  Our friends are not happy with us!
Labor Signs: None.
Symptoms: Bloated, tired, headach-y.  Lower back pain like I have never experienced in my life.  I had my first pregnancy massage yesterday (Jake got me a gift certificate for Mother's Day) and I was really hoping it would help with the back, but in the car leaving the massage place the back pain was even worse.
Belly Button? In
Wedding rings? Tight every day now.  I definitely need to drink more water.
Happy or Moody? Grumpy and a bit overwhelmed.  I'm so excited for all the big changes in our lives right now, but there are so many of them at the same time its a little much to process!
Looking forward to: Being HALFWAY DONE baking this baby on Sunday :)  I have my 20 week OB appointment with Dr. Marcus on Monday and my Big Anatomy Scan with Dr. Mann at Northside Hospital on Thursday.  Lots of prayers in the meantime.

Picture coming tonight when we get back from dinner...

Registry and Nursery

As the halfway mark quickly approaches (yay!), I'm starting to slightly freak out that I have done nothing to prepare for the arrival of this new member of our family.  After talking to Jake's cousin's wife Brady, who is already registered and outfitting her nursery...and she is only 3 weeks ahead of me...I realized it is time to get my butt in gear!

As far as the registry, I really have no idea.  A number of my friends registered at Buy Buy Baby, but its way the heck out in Alpharetta which is a pain to get to from the city.  I've also been told to consider Babies 'R Us because its easy to access and available everywhere.  Brady registered at Giggle.com, so I need to figure out what they're story is and if I like the idea of an online only registry.

Things I know I need:

• Car Seat
• Stroller
• Breast Pump
• Crib
• Changing Table
• Rocker/Glider with Ottoman