Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas

from our house to yours....

Week 20

Week 20



Size of baby: size of a cantaloupe

This week: What a fun week!  I started to feel the baby and I love it.  He's moving around like crazy in there and I love feeling him.  I started feeling him last Friday (Dec. 17th) and wasn't exactly sure if it was truly the baby.  It feels kind of like a flutter or bubbles in there.  I had heard that was the way it felt so I was pretty sure it was him but confirmed it after I continually felt him everyday after that.  He's very active which I love.  It seems that he is especially active right after I eat or when I lay down at night to go to sleep. 

I am feeling pretty good except I have been having trouble sleeping and my back is a little sore.  I feel like I toss and turn a lot at night.  I've always been a very active sleeper which never bothered me but now every time I turn over, it wakes me up.  I may have to invest in an additional pillow for support to my back. 

Matt and I have talked a little about names but still don't have anything that we are confident as a name for Baby W.  :-)

We have a lot of fun things coming up.  I am planning to go pick out the paint color for the nursery in the next week or so.  Baby W's nursery should start coming together soon as we have some plans to move some furniture in there soon.

I have so much to be thankful for this Christmas and especially this tiny baby growing in my stomach!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas Decorations

I love Christmas and very much get into decorating.  I had all the decorations out since right after Thanskgiving but am just now taking pictures of the decor. 
Oops.  It looks like a bulb is out.  I'll get that replaced.
I love the reindeer that I added to the outside.
The green grinch tree on the table is new.
My pharmacy Christmas villages.  I have 2 new ones this year. (Thanks to Matt and my friend Christie.)

The dining room...
Our family room...

(we were watching Rachel Ray!)

 Even Wally decorated....

(Wally is such a good sport.  I just told him to sit and he knew that his good behavior would be rewarded so he participated.  I don't think it's going to be this easy with a baby.)

This year, I decided to highlight these as my favorite ornaments. 












My grandmother gave me a hallmark ornament every year.  As you can see this isn't all 29 of them, but they are all on the tree and I love having every single one of them on the tree.  It reminds me that she is my angel.  I miss her so much but am happy I have these as memories of so many good years.  Christmas won't be the same without her.

This weekend, we were busy.  I was thankful to be done with shopping so I didn't have to be in the crowds.  I had a good time on Friday night with girlfriends.  We did Secret Santa for the 2nd year in a row.  Matt and I also did all our traditional Christmas activities...making candies, baking cookies, and of course the tacky light tour with friends.  This week is a short week with work.  I can't believe Christmas is this week.

Week 19

Week 19


Size of baby: size of a mango
Total Weight Gain: Gained 2.5 lbs
This week: It's been a big week and I'm late making my post.  We got to go to the doctor and see the baby on the ultrasound.  Baby W wasn't cooperating so the ultrasound technician wants me to come back.  I got upset when she told me that she couldn't see everything and started crying.  I loved seeing the baby and I have worried so much about this baby so to hear that she couldn't see everything, I got pretty upset.  The ultrasound tech then took a some more time to explain that Baby W was moving around like crazy and everything that she could see looked very good and healthy but she wanted to be very thorough.  She also explained that his position was in such a pretzel making it hard to get a good look at his heart (his HR was 150).  Hopefully he will cooperate a little more.  She reassured me that he will next time because he will be bigger.   After the extra time that she spent explaining that the baby was healthy, I felt relieved.  So, looking on the bright side, I get to see him again at the next visit!  And you may have guessed by now, because I think I referred to Baby W as "he"....We also found out that we are having a boy!  I couldn't believe it!  I really thought it was a girl.  I am excited about having a boy though.  I just hope he doesn't inherit my athletic ability!  :-)  Matt was very excited about a boy.  He's going to be such a good Daddy.  So, out of our good friends in Richmond with babies, we have 6 boys and 2 girls.  So, he is going to have a lot of friends to play with. 

I got a good report with my doctor.  My blood pressure was a little higher, but that may have been raised slightly due to the excitement and me getting a little upset during the ultrasound.  It was still normal (120/64).  I have continued to feel good this week.  No headaches for the last few weeks which is nice.  I'm also in maternity clothes.  I wore them all week and it was a lot more comfortable.

Matt and I had a girl name in mind but no boy names so we have some work to do.  :-)  It's a lot of fun to not call the baby "it" anymore. 

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Week 18

Week 18

Size of baby: size of a sweet potato
This week: I think my bump is growing.  According to my scales, I've gained a few pounds.  The bump seems bigger on some days than others but I'm sure it has to do with what I have on.  I'm still wearing a mix of maternity clothes and regular clothes.  I am using the maternity bands a lot so I would definitely recommend to anyone who is pregnant.  I don't really wear too many dresses to work, but I have a couple that still work.  I was really excited this week when I got a big box shipped to me from my friend Courtney Crawford with maternity clothes.  Thanks Courtney!  She sent me quite a few shirts that may work when it gets a little warmer outside.

I read that the baby is moving all around now (yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing) and it shouldn't me long until I start to feel him/her.  Also baby is starting to hear so just in time to hear me sing Christmas carols, which may not be such a blessing.  As for me, I'm feeling great.  I still require a bit more sleep, which is hard for me to quantify because I've always enjoyed sleep.  I am noticing that, while I can do it, it's harder for me to bend over.    Also, I didn't think it was possible but I'm less coordinated than I was before pregnant.  :-) 

Next week, we go back to the doctor.  And this is a big appointment.  Matt and I get to see the baby and make sure the baby is healthy.  I have worried so much about this baby which isn't much of a surprise as I tend to worry about a lot of things that I can't control or do anything about.  I know that my worrying about the baby is only the beginning and sometimes I wonder how my parents did it.  As far as worrying now about the baby, my pregnant friends tell me it will get easier when I can start feeling the baby moving around.  At the appointment, we get to find out the gender, which we are both excited about so stay posted and I'll update next week with whether it's a boy or girl.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Headed to the Orange Bowl...

Yay Hokies!!  We decided to go to the ACC Championship game last weekend with Matt's parents.  (Yes I'm a week behind with my blogs but there is this thing called work that gets in my way sometimes.)  It rained, snowed, and sleeted on our trip down to Charlotte.  We weren't sure the weather was going to improve for us but it did!  It was pretty cold out there though.  We had to tailgate in the car since it was still raining which made things a little interesting but we filled our bellies full of good food before the game.  As it was time to start making our way to the stadium, the rain completely stopped.



Under my jeans I had on tights and long underwear and I had 3 shirts under my sweatshirt and also had on 3 pairs of socks under my warm boots.  I was glad I had all of that on.


We had great seats in the stadium.  We were actually under a ledge so when it started raining for a brief time, we didn't feel it.  :-) 



It sure was an exciting game and I was so happy that Tyrod Taylor had such a good game.  And I loved getting to see Frank accept the ACC trophy.  I'm glad our season ended so well after not a great start.  No plans on going to the Orange Bowl but I'll be watching.  Hope we can beat Stanford!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Week 17

Week 17


Size of baby: size of an onion
This week: I'm a little late getting my post up but I had a good week.  My bump is getting a little bit larger.  In fact, I'm noticing a big difference with my clothes.  I'm a big fan of the maternity bands which makes my pants still work for me at this point.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Thanksgiving Recap

We went back to Grundy for Thanksgiving and had such a nice time visiting with my family.  We got there about 10:30 Wednesday night.  The drive wasn't too bad.  It was real easy for me since Matt did all the driving!  :-)  My mom cooked for us all weekend.  It was all so good and I definitely felt my bump getting bigger which I don't necessarily consider to be a good think since I'm pretty sure it was all food.  I didn't manage to take any pictures of the family.  Matt and I did a lot of relaxing which was nice.  So, did Wally.

Isn't it sad that this is the only picture we took?

We really stayed at home and visited a lot.  Thanksgiving night, Matt and my sister went on a date to the movies to see the latest Harry Potter movie.  Since I haven't seen any of them, I didn't really care about going so I stayed at home and watched a Christmas movie on TV.  Friday, we went out Black Friday shopping which doesn't take too long in Grundy.  We were the most successful at my dad's store.  Saturday, we watched the Hokies beat the Hoos and then we headed to Bristol to see the Christmas lights at the speedway.  It was mentioned in December's Southern Living and since my mom was the only one that had seen them, we decided to go check them out.  They were really cool.  Dad didn't quite think they were worth the traffic and wait to get it.  Here are some pictures of our favorites! 







So, my parents got me a Flip camera for my birthday which was a big surprise.  Matt and I had been looking at Flips and even gone to the store to look but I hadn't mentioned it to my parents.  Anyways, I tested it out while we were looking at the lights.  After we saw all the lights, we got to drive around the race track and there were more lights that were synchronized to the music.

Sunday, the drive home wasn't quite as much fun as I got very sick in the car.  Since that was not a highlight of our trip and no one wants to hear the details, I'll leave that part out.  Needless to say, I don't think Matt and I will ever forget the experience.