36 Weeks

October 24, 2014February 26, 2015 nk3305 Comments

Baby Kiel is weighing in at roughly 6 lbs now! Weight gain will begin to slow down now as our little guy or girl gets ready to enter the world. Most of our baby’s systems are ready to go now, although the digestive system won’t be fully mature until after birth.

How far along: 36 weeks
Gender: Nobody knows! 🙂 You only have a few weeks left to go vote here if you’d like! There will be a prize! 😉
Weight gain: 19 lbs
Symptoms: Bedtime heartburn, backaches when I don’t take breaks often enough while being productive, sore nipples, and hemorrhoids (TMI?).
Maternity clothes: Definitely
Stretch marks: Not yet, and I’m hoping it stays that way
Belly button in or out: Still in! My sister is shocked. 🙂
Sleep: It really depends on the night. It’s hard to fall asleep on nights when I’m having heartburn. And then the one night I didn’t have heartburn? I woke up when Andrew came to bed at 3:30am and then just laid there not being able to sleep for about an hour. Annoying.
Best moment this week: Andrew being proactive. 🙂 While he still hasn’t gotten anywhere with this whole baby name thing, he HAS installed the car seat and perfected his getting-the-Moby-wrap-on-quickly move. And he wants to pack his own hospital bag. Funny enough, when Andrew is motivated to get things done, I finally get motivated to get things done. I finally got baby clothes washed and put away, and look what I built:

I realize these things are pretty idiot-proof, but I was still pretty proud of myself for putting it all together on my own. Baby Kiel officially has a “nook” in the guest room/storage room. 🙂

More organizing has to be done there, but I just wanted to put some stuff on the shelves right away. I also emptied two drawers in our guest room dresser for baby clothes and cleared the top for the changing pad. It’s definitely not a nursery, but at least we have “baby stations” set up now, haha.
Miss anything: Not really… just sleeping well, I guess. But I have a feeling that’s something I just need to get used to now.
Movement: Very much
Cravings: Water? Can you crave water? I mean, not in a dehydration way, I just always feel like drinking water.
Looking forward to: Meeting our baby 🙂

BBQ Baby Shower!

October 7, 2014 nk3304 Comments

Last weekend we had our co-ed BBQ baby shower at our house. My friend Diane hosted it and did such a cute job with a fall theme. Everything was autumn-colored, including the diaper cake. I loved the little bunting too!
While the guys hung out and drank beer, us ladies decorated onesies. Diane had iron-on fabric and fabric paints for us to use. Once I got started, I just kept going — I think I made 3 of them!
My friend Robyn won the onesie decorating contest! She made a guitar and wrote “FRET-fully cute” — I thought it was so clever. 🙂 And guess what else. We have the same due date! How crazy is that?

Andrew was in charge of the grill, of course. He marinated chicken pieces and grilled them for dinner. Some people brought some brats for him to grill too. Everyone else brought sides, and it all was delicious!
We all ate in the conservatory, because, unfortunately, we had a very wet and chilly day!
But while we were eating, the sun started peeking through, so Andrew built a fire and the guys smoked cigars outside.
Meanwhile, we ladies headed inside for gift-opening! We got some useful items for Baby Kiel, as well as cute stuff like books and toys. I’m really thankful for our friends and their generosity. Andrew and I had a great time spending time with friends, eating good food, and celebrating our little baby… who will be joining us soon!

Daily living

19 Weeks

June 26, 2014June 29, 2014 nk33012 Comments

19 weeks and Baby is as long as a pickling cucumber! He/she is about 6″ long now and weighs about 7 ounces.

How far along: 19 weeks

Gender: No idea, and people seem to be split about 50/50 on their predictions for me. I did have a lady tell me I am definitely having a girl and that she is always right. We’ll see!

Weight gain: 3 lbs
Symptoms: Back pain, occasional headaches, fatigue, and random nausea. And one episode of vomiting again. 😦 I think my prenatal vitamin hit the back of my throat when I was swallowing it, and as much as I tried NOT to get sick, it happened anyway.

Maternity clothes: Yep!

Stretch marks: No

Belly button in or out: in

Sleep: Not too bad

Best moments this week: Being told I looked really good in the jeans I was wearing 🙂 It turns out you get what you pay for, even with maternity clothes! My other best moment was finding a doula that we like. We were on the fence about having one, but after doing the Doula Speed Dating event on base, we found someone we really like. We’re excited to go through the rest of our pregnancy with her guidance, and it really took some of my anxiety away regarding labor & delivery.

Miss anything: My clothes. I wear jeans and a t-shirt everyday to work, but on the weekends when I actually want to look cute? I have no idea what to wear, and everything I try on doesn’t look right. I’ve been pretty frustrated. Back to online shopping…

Movement: Once in awhile. I usually notice it in the early afternoon when I’m sitting down. It probably happens more, but I’m pretty preoccupied at work!

Cravings: Hummus or guacamole with tortilla chips, Dr Pepper, blue Gatorade, cheese sticks with Wheat Thins
Looking forward to: our next ultrasound (9th of July)