32 Weeks

September 27, 2014 nk3302 Comments

Baby Kiel is now the length of a leek! He or she is almost 17″ long from head to heel and is weighing in at about 3.75 lbs. Our baby’s digestive system is ready to go, but his/her lungs are still developing. Apparently, Baby is sleeping 90-95% of the day, but I don’t know if I believe that, haha! Our little one is still quite active in there.

We had our 32-week appointment on Tuesday, and everything is looking good! My uterus is measuring right on target, and Baby Kiel’s heartbeat was between 138 and 141. We had a tour of Labor & Delivery, which was nice, although I’ve been in L&D 3 times in the past 6 months, I think (everyone is having babies!). The rooms are really nice and spacious, and I’ve heard really great things about the doctors and nurses there. We also had our little baby shower — we received some diapers and really cute little sea-themed board books. Each of us also received a lovely knit baby sweater that a lady donated.
How far along: 32 weeks
Gender: Still a mystery! 🙂 You can go vote here if you’d like! Looks like the votes are getting closer to 50/50…
Weight gain: 15 lbs from my lowest point
Symptoms: The day I hit 32 weeks was kind of a rough day. I woke up without an appetite, went to a baby shower tea party where I still wasn’t feeling great, then came home and ended up resting on the couch feeling nauseous. I did get hungry for dinner, but then had indigestion and heartburn (and a lot of burping) after that. Thankfully it was just one day! My back pain has been much better as long as I change positions when needed. Headaches have been much less frequent too! I’ve had a few random nosebleeds (very unusual for me), but I read that they’re common in pregnancy due to hormones (of course). I think I’ve been a little more emotional lately too. I get teary-eyed about things I normally am not phased by, and I’ve been more upset about things that don’t usually bother me much.
Maternity clothes: Definitely! Some are even too small now.
Stretch marks: Not yet
Belly button in or out: Still in!
Sleep: Not too bad. I still am sleeping more than I’d like to, but I figure if my body wants it, I must need it.
Best moment(s) this week: I had a couple “best moments” this week! On Tuesday I received a package from my mom. I expected a few baby items, but on top of everything was an invitation:
So my first gift was from my mom, and apparently more are coming! I think it’s such a sweet and creative way to have a baby shower with the people I won’t be able to celebrate with before Baby Kiel’s arrival. Yes, this is one of the things I got emotional about this week. 🙂
My other best moment was getting our maternity photos done. I can’t wait to see how they turned out and to share them with everyone!
Miss anything: Having a normal digestive system: I never know how food is going to affect me anymore.
Movement: All the time! One day I felt like the baby was literally trying to push out of my stomach.
Cravings: Still craving lemonade… it really hits the spot! Sometimes I still want ice cream before bed, although I’ve been trying to cut back on that.
Looking forward to: Our BBQ baby shower next weekend! The weather has been so mild, I hope we have a nice afternoon to spend outside with our friends.

Baby Kiel at 32 weeks (and 2 days):

I can’t believe it’s officially autumn! We found out we were pregnant at the end of winter, rolled through spring and summer, and here we are in the season our baby will be arriving. In some ways it seems like I’ve been pregnant forever, and then sometimes I feel like it all went so fast.

Baby Update

Baby Nursery Inspiration

September 23, 2014September 23, 2014 nk3305 Comments

I know that I mentioned early on that I wanted to do a nautical nursery for Baby Kiel. I started out picturing navy blue and white with pops of red or pink depending on if Baby is a he or a she:

Then we went to Cornwall in April, and I bought some beach-y souvenirs. When we got back and I decorated the mantel with them, I realized I had gotten very neutral, pastel colored items.

So then I started re-thinking what I wanted to do for this nursery! I started wondering if the dark colors would be too dark for a baby’s room. And when I asked Andrew for his opinion, he wanted the lighter colors… so plans changed.

We are supposed to move from England to our next base in January (only 2 months after our due date), so we are not setting up a nursery here. But I still love planning what we’re going to do in our next home! We’ve decided that we will be creating a very neutral, light-and-airy, beach-y room for Baby Kiel. Here’s an example of the colors we like:

Even if Baby Kiel is a girl, I like the cool, calm colors that come with blues, whites, grays, and taupe. I haven’t decided if I want to add a few pink things here and there or if I want to just add feminine touches, like ruffles and sparkles and fabric patterns. I also love lace and pearls, so there’s bound to be some of those touches if we have a little girl growing!

I’ve had a lot of fun picking out the types of accessories I want:

I am in love with this mobile made of a starfish and sea glass! The colors are perfect, and I like that it’s not “babyish” — it’s something I could use again somewhere else in the home after a mobile is no longer necessary.

I hope I can figure out how to make something similar… otherwise I’ll have to convince Andrew to splurge a little on this. 🙂

I think this whale lamp is adorable! It has popped up a few times on Zulily.com, and every time it just makes me smile. It also seems to give a nice glow instead of a harsh bright light. It’s a bit pricey on Amazon, so I might just have to buy it the next time I see it on Zulily!

This boat shelf would be so perfect for little mementos, picture frames, or books/toys. Plus it has pegs on it to hang items on as well.

This was another Zulily find, so I’ll have to see if it comes around again.

I also like little wooden plaques like this whale to hang on the walls. I found some that I like at Pottery Barn Kids but they are not cheap (even on sale)! I might look on Etsy for something similar.

Isn’t this cute? I found it on Zulily (of course), and had to buy it. I was buying a gift for someone else and decided to just go ahead and add this to my cart. Not sure what I’m going to put in it yet… lotion or diaper cream maybe?

The letters made out of driftwood in the nursery below caught my eye when I saw the picture. I don’t know if I want the whole first name or just the first initial. Or maybe a monogram?

Once we decided on a color scheme for our nursery, I started finding things I wanted left and right online. I’m so excited to actually be able to set up a nursery, but for right now, it’s fun to plan!

Baby Update

31 Weeks

September 20, 2014September 20, 2014 nk3304 Comments

Baby Kiel is now the length of our printer/scanner! In other words, Baby Kiel is now about 16.25″ long and weighs about 3.3 lbs.

On Saturday we took an Infant CPR and First Aid class on base. I last took this class two years ago to work at the CDC on base, but my certification is almost expired and I wanted a refresher anyway! I just hope we never have to use it.

How far along: 31 weeks
Gender: Still a mystery! 🙂 You can go vote here if you’d like! Looks like the votes are getting closer to 50/50…
I had another dream about Baby Kiel… I dreamed girl again, and I was successfully breastfeeding. I hope that at least the second part is a prediction of the future!
Weight gain: 14 lbs
Symptoms: Some back pain still. Headaches once in awhile.
Maternity clothes: Definitely
Stretch marks: Not yet
Belly button in or out: Still in!
Sleep: A lot, haha. I read on a website that 9 hours is the ideal amount of sleep in pregnancy, and I’ve been sleeping about 10 hours a night. I wake up every time I need to roll to my other side, plus I get up at least once to use the bathroom… I don’t know how much that affects “quality sleep.” ~~No naps needed though~~! Until Saturday… Friday night neither Andrew nor I slept very well. It was warm and humid in the bedroom, and I could NOT get comfortable! I don’t know how much sleep we ended up getting, but we had to get up to do that CPR class, so I was already planning on a nap when I got up at 7am. And it was fantastic!
Best moment this week: Getting the yarn in the mail that I need to start Baby Kiel’s baby blanket! I already have a 2nd blanket I want to make, but we’ll see if I get around to it before The Big Day.
Miss anything: Being able to paint my toenails. I was persistent and DID manage to paint them this week, but I think this was my last time doing that for awhile. I see a professional pedicure in my near future.
Movement: All the time!
Cravings: Chocolate — before bed I usually have some ice cream or a pudding cup. And I’ve had a craving for lemonade (I think it was the reappearance of “summer weather” that brought this on). I went to the commissary for 3 things on Thursday: milk, ice cream, and lemonade mix, haha!
Looking forward to: Our next appointment. My Village Friends group is doing a little baby shower as part of our appointment, plus I think this is the one where we tour Labor & Delivery. Also looking forward to getting maternity photos done!

Baby Kiel at 31 weeks (and 2 days): I didn’t really have a plan for my 31 week board, and then I was given this super cute onesie from a friend at work! I was excited to use it this week! 🙂