Can't wait...

...for my baby showers in about 2 weeks! M and I are flying home to Philly on Friday, October 15th. His neighbor who we are both close with is throwing me a shower on the 16th. I am so excited to see M's family and all of our friends!

Then, Sunday morning (the 17th) we are flying from Philly to Boston just in time for my Mom and sisters to throw me a shower! We'll be staying until late Monday, the 18th. I can't wait to see my family!

It will definitely be a tiring weekend, and I have no idea what flying at 28 weeks will be like, but I'm sure it will be well worth it to see those I love and miss so much :)

25 weeks

I think baby girl went through a growth spurt this week!

How far along? 25 weeks
Weight gain/loss: 133 lbs, up 15 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Exclusively.
Stretch marks? None yet, but belly is getting big.
Sleep? My cat wakes me up multiple times during the night...he likes to chew on our new furniture :(
Best moment this week? Looking through all of our baby clothes today, it was fun :)
Food cravings: Chocolate
Gender: Girl
Belly button in or out? In
Movement? Yup, mostly late at night and in the early morning
What I miss? I would have liked a beer today while watching football
What I'm looking forward to: My baby showers! I can't wait to see all my friends and family in MA and PA in just three weeks.
Milestones: I had my first leaky boob this week, eek!

Here's what baby looks like this week:

25 Weeks Pregnant

My Ralph Lauren obsession

Let me preface this by saying that I am an avid coupon clipper, shop sales religiously, and never ever pay full price for anything. Everything you see below cost me around $5 on clearance or eBay...so please don't judge haha

Ok so on to my obsession. I think Ralph Lauren makes the absolute cutest baby clothes, especially little girls' clothes. Carina is going to be a well dressed little lady.

My favorite. This is a red velour Christmas dress with a plaid bow in the back that is size 12M...I am crossing my fingers that it will fit Carina come Christmas next year:


Spring dresses:


Summer dresses:


Fall dresses:


Long sleeve shirts:


I have a few more things tucked away in our dresser that I am too lazy to get out right now. Please, help me stop buying all these adorable things. I know they are only $5 or so, but that adds up! :)

In the words of my Mom...CRAPOLA

I took the 1 hour glucose tolerance test yesterday afternoon and I failed :(

My lab's cutoff is a 140 and I was at 145. I've already scheduled the 3 hour test for next Friday, October 1st. I'm going to take the day off from work since I've heard that some people get really sick during and after the test.

The test is at 9 AM, and I have to fast for 12 hours before, and eat at least 150g of carbs for the three days before the test. Blah. Not looking forward to this. Please cross your fingers for me!

The man in action

M and I put together our crib this weekend! It was a little frustrating at times; we had trouble getting some of the pieces to fit together and had to drill deeper holes, but we can't really complain. Here is M working hard:


Here is our kitty Layla trying to help (or get in the way):


This is M's "why do you keep on taking pictures of me?" face:


The finished product (with assorted baby things thrown in it already):


We wavered between the Graco Lauren crib in Espresso and Walnut, and ultimately picked the Walnut. We are so glad, it matches the rest of our furniture perfectly!

Wow

6 weeks


12 weeks


18 weeks


24 weeks

If you are newly pregnant, I highly recommend taking a pic every week. M and I just looked back at all of my pics and we cannot believe how I've changed. It was really cool to look through all of them. I wonder how we'll feel at 40 weeks :)

24 weeks...V day!

How far along? 24 weeks...V day was yesterday!
Weight gain/loss: 131 lbs, up 13 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Exclusively.
Stretch marks? None yet.
Sleep? Can't complain.
Best moment this week? The other night I hadn't felt baby kick for a while so M decided to try to make her kick. He started talking into my belly, "Hey baby, it's Daddy...will you kick for me?" and she started kicking like crazy. It was so cute.
Food cravings: French fries
Gender: Girl
Belly button in or out? In
Movement? Yes siree, all day long!
What I miss? I'd don't usually crave lunchmeat, but today I'd really like a turkey sandwich
What I'm looking forward to: This week will be really easy at work since we have a big conference where thousands of our customers come for the week. It's a lot of fun.
Milestones: V day! Baby is officially considered viable as of yesterday. Now of course we hope she will stay in there for much longer, but it's nice to know she would likely be viable. Squeeee!

Here's what baby looks like this week:

24 Weeks Pregnant

I cannot believe I neglected to mention...

...that my boobs are bigger! This should have been a milestone in my weekly post. After 23 weeks, they are finally a teensy bit bigger. I haven't had to go up a cup size yet, but I have had to start wearing other bras. Let me explain...

I love one of my bras so much that I went out and bought seven identical ones. That's right, seven. I've worn them pretty much every single day for the last six years or so. They have detachable/convertible straps so they are perfect for almost every outfit. And now these bras no longer fit! I am keeping my fingers crossed that pretty soon I'll be able to venture into C territory.

My boobs have been a B since I was 14 years old. Every single woman in my family (even my Dad's family) has big boobs. That is, except for me. My Mom used to joke that I got the brains 'instead'. LOL. I was hoping that pregnancy would bring me some big honkers (at least temporarily), but as my 1st and 2nd trimesters slowly crept by without any growth I was a bit disappointed.

Even with this tiny bit of growth I am just ecstatic! And I'm also slightly embarrassed, because I just realized I've gone on about boobs for this long...

I wish I could go back in time...

...and give my 19/20-year-old self a big hug. I would tell myself that everything was going to be okay, despite how difficult things were at the moment.

At that time, I don't think I ever thought I'd be where I am now. Looking back, I am quite proud of how far I've come. I hope that someday, Carina will be proud to have me as her Mom.

23 weeks

How far along? 23 weeks
Weight gain/loss: 130 lbs, up 12 lbs. I have never seen this number on the scale before.
Maternity clothes? I am constantly buying more.
Stretch marks? None yet.
Sleep? Still sleeping well, other than getting up to pee, of course.
Best moment this week? We saw baby kick from the outside, it was awesome.
Food cravings: Cream cheese...random, I know
Gender: Girl
Belly button in or out? In
Movement? All the time. She is kicking more and it feels stronger every day!
What I miss? Wine
What I'm looking forward to: My next OB appointment is Thursday
Milestones: This isn't baby related, but we bought a new car this week! It's awesome!

Here's what baby looks like this week:

23 Weeks Pregnant

Introducing...our new (other) baby!

A 2010 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI! After a day spent negotiating with multiple dealerships over e-mail, we got a fantastic deal. I am so proud of myself.

Here is our car history:
My parents bought me a used 2000 Toyota Camry in 2004. M inherited his grandfather's 1992 Plymouth Acclaim back in 2005. So it's safe to say that neither of us has ever had a fancy new car.

I still can't believe that this car will be ours on Saturday (that's when we pick it up)! It has leather interior, a computer that shows you your mileage per gallon and more, 5 disc CD player, iPod adapter, Bluetooth connection, oh and did I mention a clean diesel engine that gets at least 30/42? Most people have said theirs gets closer to 35/46. Eeeeee!

Can't wait to drive it down to Chicago on Sunday to meet up with my lovely TTGP ladies for lunch :)

22 weeks

How far along? 22 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Still 129 lbs, up 11 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yes siree.
Stretch marks? None yet.
Sleep? I am sleeping great, I hope this continues.
Best moment this week? M felt baby move for the first time!
Food cravings: Salad
Gender: Girl
Belly button in or out? In
Movement? Yes, I feel her mostly when I sit in a certain position. It's like a, "Mommy you're restricting my space" kick.
What I miss? Beer
What I'm looking forward to: Our crib should come sometime this week, putting it together will be so much fun.
Milestones: It was really amazing when M felt her for the first time. He got all excited and said "Oh my God" over and over again. So cute :)

Here's what baby looks like this week:

22 Weeks Pregnant

Some gifts for baby girl

Carina has received some very cute gifts so far. I'd like to show them off; I hope you don't mind.


A few adorable onesies from Heather.


Hilarious onesie from my sister Amanda & Eric. I guess she thinks Carina will be smart? ;)


Phillies onesies from Jolene. M loves these.


Red Sox romper and pacifiers from Sarah. M and I fight about this all the time, but I think baby is going to be a Red Sox fan! I mean come on, who would choose Phillies over the Red Sox? Hehe.

Thank you so much for the gifts, ladies!