First concert

Well, technically not his/her first live concert, but you know what I mean! We celebrated a couple of summer birthday's this weekend at the Dave Matthew's show at Fenway. The music was a nice blend of old and new and the company superb. Katie and Chris joined us for the road trip to Boston. The birthday celebrations included Tim's (tomorrow) and Chris' (July). The Bleacher bar was our choice for dinner of fried pickles, gravy fries, pretzels, and onion rings. I'm not sure why they let the pregnant woman order, but there weren't any complaints AND Chris licked the last bit of sour cream drenched fries. We were officially part of the clean plate club. Unfortunaetly, the peanut may be still recovering from the second hand smoke, and it wasn't just cigarettes. It was certainly a good way to start his/her musical talent.

Who's our doctor???

No, I did NOT know the answer to this question when the lab checker-in person asked me. This whole learning process about midwives vs doctors and solo practices vs group practices has been a little overwhelming.

Here's what we have going on.... we were referred to the Women's Center (by my pcp) at Fletcher Allen, and really didn't think to visit other doctor offices or practices. At first I was a bit confused because we saw several different midwives for our appointments and each appt was not as lovey dovey as I would have liked. I started to think about finding a difference practice. Here are the pros and cons:

Solo practice - you see one doctor fairly exclusively and you're not guaranteed to have that doctor at delivery.

Group practice - you see lots of doctors and will know who is at your delivery.

I prefer the group practice philosophy, so we're staying where we're at. The good news is that Fletcher Allen offers group classes for women due around the same time. My first class was last night and is was much more lovey dovey than the appts we've had at the hospital. Unfortunately, we are the only couple signed up, so I'm hoping more join so we can continue these groups sessions. Basically, these appts will take the place of the prenatal appts at the hospital and do them in a group. Obviously the exam party is private, but the group will get together and ask/answer lots of questions by one of the midwives.

Speaking of which, here are some answers to many of the questions I've been asked!

1. Yes, we heard the heart beat - 160 fhr.
2. Yes, I've gained weight.
3. No, I'm not telling how much.
   
4. No, I don't have a belly - well, it's just a lot of extra squish.
5. Yes, I have more energy.
6. Yes, I have cravings - they are salty foods, carbs, and strawberries (see #3)
   
7. Yes, we'll find out the sex - we have a few more weeks to go!
8. No we haven't decided on names.

By the way, my doctor is considered The Midwives at the Women's Center :-) It only took 14 weeks to figure it out!

Opportunity comes knocking!

Besides figuring out this mom-to-be thing, I was recently promoted at work. The VP of Operations (my now boss) approached me about an opportunity to manage the Retail Shop and Call Center. It all happened very quickly, and after I said yes, the doubt creeped in. I'm certainly very excited, nervous, and blessed. I could have stayed where I was - safe, easy going for the summer, but I felt I've learned as much as I can from supervising the warehouse. The new opportunity brings a wealth of new knowledge and open doors. The transition is happening this week, so I'm looking forward to a long weekend to rest my mushy brain. We'll be in Maine celebrating Memorial Day and am looking forward to BBQ's and seeing family and friends!

Tim is certainly excited and proud of my accomplishments. It's interesting making decisions for your family instead of yourself. But I guess that's what it means to be a grown up :-) The door opened and I'm walking right through.

It finally happened

Many people have asked me how I've been feeling and my responses have varied from ok, to a little nauseous, to GREAT! Well, unfortunately this past Friday something did not agree with me. I barely had time to make it to the restroom before my "cookies" were tossed. I can't say that I was excited and my staff knew I didn't feel well. I tried to mask the blah feeling, but apparently it was written all over my face. I'm chalking it up to something I ate because I'm feeling GREAT today! We're almost to the blissful 2nd trimester I've heard so much about......hang in there peanut, we're almost there!

Yo Daddio!

And.....now.....in the blue corner.....weighing in at.....well, there's no need to go further with that one.  Hello to all readers!  When Jess created this blog a little over a month ago, I told her she would *MAYBE* see an occasional post from me, but it would be doubtful. Myself, I'm not a big fan of writing about my everyday happenings, but it's great to keep track of what we're going through during this special time and to have a place to share photos and updates with family and friends.

Today was a really exciting day as we had our third appointment, followed by an ultrasound.  We had a quick appointment with a midwife first.  The most exciting part of this was that we got to hear the baby's heartbeat with a doppler stethoscope! She placed it near Jess' belly and after a few seconds we heard a heartbeat.  "That's Jess' heartbeat, the midwife said".  We were told the baby's heartbeat would be about twice as fast.  We continued to listen and a few seconds later, there it was....the sound of a faint, fast heartbeat.  Music to our ears!  So cool.

After our appointment with the midwife, we met with the sonographer who began the ultrasound. He took his photos and measurements and told us that he/she was measuring almost 3 inches tall, about the size of your pinky. So, in honor of that, in today's post (and just today's post), the baby's name will change from "peanut" to "pinky".  See, that's just another sign that pinky is probably a girl. We had the pleasure of watching pinky tossing and turning all over.  I swear pinky knew we were checking it out since it was squirming all around, almost like it was trying to find a comfortable position. We caught some good profile views and front-on views of pinky as you'll see in the photos below.

   

Crazy!  At one point, we could see it looking right at us, mouth wide open.  Jess said it looked like one of the singers from the band Kiss.  I thought it looked like Yoda.  Hopefully, we won't have an ancient-looking Yoda baby, although I won't complain about having jedi-master offspring.

All joking aside, it was a great day and a priviledge to be able to watch our growing baby on live TV. I just can't wait until I get to meet our little movie star, live and in person.

A Special Treat

Sunday was Mother's Day and as it turned out, a very special day. Tim was traveling home from Boston and we met at Pizza Hut for lunch- isn't he sweet to accommodate my cravings? Taking two cars meant we had to travel home separately, I was expecting to beat him by seconds, but minutes later I was starting to get worried. Twenty minutes later he shows up and after I questioned his whereabouts with a bit of anger, it quickly was diminished. Behind his back he had this beautiful hydrangea and very sweet, mushy card. Didn't you know he was a sensitive one?

Of course the raging hormones made me start crying, actually sobbing. I seriously have the best husband in the world. xoxoxoxoxoxo

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, Grandmothers (RIP), Aunts, Godmother, Sister-in Laws, and friends. Whether you have children or furbabies, have a wonderful day! You are all special and deserve a fantastic recognition!!!!

It's weird for people to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. Yes, I know, I'm going to be a Mom. Everyone's definition of Mom is different - does it happen at conception? at birth? somewhere in the middle? Whatever it means to you, it could be very different to the next person. I respect everyone's thoughts and I'm thankful I'm welcomed into the prestigious club.

So, celebrate well and enjoy the one day set aside for Moms!!!

Diapers!

The reactions we've received when announcing we plan on cloth diapering haven't been surprising. Since I've been obsessed with the eco-friendly endeavor, I thought I'd share a little bit. Videos included.

Let me first start with saying in the past couple of years, cloth diapering has come a long way! Parents can choose to go inexpensive and lose a bit of convenience, or spend a little more and gain a ton of convenience. Unfortunately, because of the multitude of cloth diaper makers it means there are a lot of different cuts. It's like buying jeans. A size 8 at the Gap is different than Levi's. Without knowing what our l'il peanut looks like it would be hard getting the perfect fit. With that said, we plan** on using prefolds with snappis, and covers for the first three or so months and then follow up with BumGenious 3.0's until potty training. Here's what they look like: (**plans always change!)

0-3 months: Prefolds with snappis and covers. Prefolds are very inexpensive, very absorbant, but not waterproof so they need a waterproof cover. At http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/diapers.htm the prefolds are $21 per dozen and we'll need 3 dozen with a newborn.

Snappis are used instead of pins.

Covers are usually around $10-12 and we'll need about 6. They have some of the cutest prints!!

Tim was a bit nervous and once I showed him a video from youtube, we left the nervousness behind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPGsB8k5sM&feature=related or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG34ZlU0nG8

2. After the newborn stage, we can start using an one-size diaper that will be perfect until potty training! These BumGenius 3.0's look easy and convenient! Adding additional inserts add absorption when needed. Let's hope our peanut will fit into these!

What to do with the dirty dipes? Take off, #1 and newborn #2 go in waterproof pail liner until washing. Once the baby starts on solids, #2's need to be flushed into the toilet. We can use rice liners to make this job easier - they go right into the toilet as well! No rinsing, scrubbing, or soaking! Bag, diapers, and cloth wipes all go in.

For day trips or outings, dirty dipes go into a wet bag:

All in all, the best laid plans could change, and we're excited to explore all the possibilities! I love all the bum fluff!

Arts and Crafts

Thanks to the Eco-Friendly Board on the Nest, I've become obsessed with reusable sandwich and snack bags. Many WAHM or SAHM (work at home mom, stay at home mom's respectively) have set up etsy shops (etsy.com) with these as products. I consider myself pretty crafty and figured with enough research I could probably make my own. I borrowed my friend's sewing machine (THANKS, JEN!), picked up $15.00 worth of fabric, iron on vinyl, and velcro and three hours later here's a sample of what I ended up with!

These are two of the four patterns I purchased - ladybugs and baseballs. Perfect for either a little boy or girl. They are waterproof on the inside and are great for sandwiches, grapes, cheerios, or anything else. We can throw them in the wash, and after a quick line dry are ready to reuse.

On another note, we had dinner with friends this weekend and received an adorable congratulatory book from "G". The title and message couldn't have been more fitting. Thanks Amy and Rick!

A message from Peanut

Dear Dad,

Mom just told me she wants me to sleep as much as you do. Just thought I'd let you know!

Love,
Peanut

Row, Row, Row your Bloat

I guess I didn't realize I would be so excited to have an actual baby bump. One doesn't go from normal to bump; one goes from normal, to bloated, to more bloated, to bump. I'm probably at the "more bloated" stage. I'd show pictures, but then I'd have to burn them. Tim might say the bloat is from the full servings of crab rangoons (that would be 8 to myself) or the plates and plates of carbs, but I'll just call it bloat.

Although my boss and a select few coworkers know about the impending little one, I'm waiting to tell my staff until after the craziness of Mother's Day. AND, it's getting harder to wear normal clothes that camouflage this ridiculous excess bloat. Yes, I have the bella band; and yes, I'm using elastics to loop the button of my jeans. Oh and hiding the exhaustion? Impossible. Four people came up to me today and asked how I was feeling - that I looked sick. REALLY? I only stayed up until 10!!! I guess I need to really get back to an 8pm bedtime.

Has it already been 10 weeks? Would you believe we're starting to think about daycare? I know, that IS crazy!

Roll me on outta here.....until I get a real bump.