I Need a Cheat Sheet!

As the half way mark grows closer and closer, I feel a bit paralyzed.


I've been asked by several people if we've started buying anything or what we've planned so far. I got nothing! Aside from the whole diaper thing, which is really the only decision I think I’ve actually made. I've thought about nursery furniture, about bedding, about paint colors, and that's kind of where I stop. Everything else is WAY too overwhelming for me!

My biggest concern, this thing called childcare. As much as I would LOVE to be able to stay at home with MJ, like many families it's just not a possibility financially. Dave has told me for years he wants to be a stay at home dad and start a Daddy Daycare (this from the man who has only changed ONE diaper in his life) once I get a “really” good paying job or we win the lottery…in today’s economy I tell him to not hold his breath, for either!
So where and how to we begin?

Where do we start? It seriously seems like 2012 is a crazy baby boom and many of our friends are pregnant with their second. I know in-home childcare can only have so many infants so I know we need to get on this ASAP. But again, I have no idea how or what to do.

How do we find someone we trust and pick someone to watch our unborn child, who we have yet to even met. Hell I don't even know if I’ll be dressing MJ in pink or blue, how do I decide who will be caring for him or her for 8 hours a day? I don't know where to begin to look or what questions I even need to ask. With thinking about this constantly for the last few weeks and laying in bed for hours terrified by this, what have I done so far? This is where the paralysis comes into play, nothing! Still nothing!

Where’s the “New Mommy Cheat Sheet” on what to do and where to start?

Sixteen Weeks

How Far Along: 16 weeks (and one day!)

How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of an avocado!  Watch what you say...tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean she can now pick up your voice. A few more minuscule changes: Eyebrows, lashes, and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming.
Maternity Clothes: Using the BeBand with the majority of all my pants now, but I still have one pair of dress pants and one pair of jeans that fit which I alternate with 2 pairs of maternity jeans.
Gender: Boy or Girl, I don't care I just want a healthy baby
Movement: Yes, although right now it's few and far between.
Sleep: It comes and goes
Belly button in or out? In.
What I miss: Nothing!
Food Cravings: No real craving this week.
Aversions: Not currently....
Symptoms: Back pain, back pain, back pain and it's not getting any better, it might even be getting worse. Nasal congestion.

Best Moment this past week: Hearing MJ's heartbeat yesterday, right around 157 bmp ;)

Milestones: Getting the BIG 20 week ultrasound scheduled.....countdown begins, 4 weeks!

What I'm looking forward to: 20 week appointment.

We Got...

Movement.

I am finally a 100% sure tonight I felt the baby! I've thought off and on I may have felt MJ but have ever been quite sure. Tonight as I was sitting around talking with a bunch of girl friends I started feeling him/her. I sat there and concentrated while feeing it, for a good 10-15 minutes straight too! It felt like popping or little flicks. Like someone flicks you with their fingers but really lightly and from inside.

I got up and told Dave. He wanted to feel it and reached for my tummy but was disappointed when I told him it was too early to feel anything on the outside as I'm just starting to feel it lightly on the inside. He gave me a very sad face and said "I want to feel the baby" :( ....not too much longer!!  

Etsy

I recently bought my first purchase off Esty! No, it was not for me but my friend Sara who is expecting her second child in April, a baby boy! Her husband is a local fire fighter and I found this adorable onsie...

Front

 Back

Ahhhh I love it!! It's so tiny and cute. I can't wait to give it to her!

Holy back pain Batman!

Between 9 and 10 weeks it started but only bothered me every now and again. I thought doing Zumba twice a week was making my back feel worse because toward the end of the week it would start hurting more and acting up while in Zumba. So I made sure I modified all the moved that bothered me. I decided to stop working out for a bit to see if that would help, but it seems these last two weeks it's just gotten worse! 

I'm usually good in the morning and early afternoon, but as the day goes on I start to feel it. I think it's either a nerve or a vertabae in my lower back just above by tailbone, right around my hips. It's usually a shooting pain when I do something that makes it hurt. Bending down. Standing up to fast. Getting in/out of bed in the middle of the night. I'm still seeing my Chiro/Accupuncturist, although I've cut down to every 2-3 weeks just because we can't afford me to go every week. I'm thinking about quitting accupuncture since insurnace doesn't cover it and just getting adjusted more often which I only have a co-pay. I'm not sure what else to do?

Onto my weekend....  I accomplished two big projects I've had on my To Do List for a very long time. (I LOVE making lists and crossing things out!)

I've been looking for valances for our dining area ever since we built our house! I've hated everything. It's either too plain, too flowery, too lacey, the colors suck, and so on. Plus the pattern had to, not match but compliment the curtains I have in our living area since it's all open. Finally I found something I liked! The only problem, the 3 valances I ordered were the wrong size....they ended up being 88 inches wide rather then the 54 inches I thought. So with the help of my wonderful mother, we did a little sewing and they turned out great. And now I have extra fabric to make pillow covers :)  

Before - it looks unfinished to me

After

They may be zebra print but I still think they go well with my flower print living room curtains. And it feels complete now!

The next project...

No this is not for MJ already (although it's never too early to start babyproofing!), it's actually for the dog!!  Maddux (the little a-hole) loves to run down stairs while we're not home or when we're not looking to pee in corner at the bottom of the stairs!!  Particularly on a vase that's there. I'm so fed up with cleaning it up ALL THE TIME and the smell of urine as soon as you walk down to the "man cave", which is really imbarressing when company comes over! So my solution was either kennel him, which he's never been kenneled - my fault, or put up a gate. So now we're prepared for baby and so far Maddux had not found another place to pee in the upstairs!! Let's just hope it stays that way.

Now for the Baby Update!

How Far Along: 15 weeks

How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of a navel orange! Continuing the march toward normal proportions, baby's legs now out-measure his arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably can't feel the movements just yet. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Ignored the scale this week.

Maternity Clothes: Using the BeBand with the majority of all my pants now, but I still have one pair of dress pants and one pair of jeans that fit. I did purshase 2 pair of maternity jeans, they're pretty comfy.

Gender: Boy or Girl, I don't care I just want a healthy baby
Movement: ??? Maybe? Still not sure  
Sleep: Unable to sleep in on the weekends which is highly disappointing.

Belly button in or out? In.

What I miss: Nothing!
Food Cravings: No real craving this week.
Aversions: Not currently....
Symptoms: Back pain, back pain, back pain. Nasal congestion.

Best Moment this past week: Came home to clean bathrooms, laundry done, and everything but big pieced of furniture cleaned out of MJ's room! I really like this "leave me a list of things to do" list Dave requested.  

Milestones: We are just 5 weeks from being half way done! AND 5ish weeks from finding out the gender

What I'm looking forward to: 16 week appointment next Monday, unfortunately no ultrasound but definitely looking forward to hearing the heartbeat!

Yay for 14!

How Far Along: 14 weeks...now we're getting somewhere!
How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of a lemon! Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, tow wiggling, (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine, and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over her body for warmth.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: +1 this week (+6 total)
Maternity Clothes: Using the BeBand with the majority of all my pants now, but I still have one pair of dress pants and one pair of jeans that fit.
Gender: No idea this week. My dad is predicting a boy.
Movement: ??? Maybe? I know it's not gas, I know it's not hunger, nor indigestion. But I'm not really sure if it's the baby. I do know it's nothing I've felt before pregnancy but it's only every once in awhile.
Sleep: I could definitely go for an afternoon nap, not sure how my office would feel about a couch in my office (sounds good tome though!). Waking up more during the night and it's harder to fall back asleep.
Belly button in or out? In.
What I miss: Nothing!
Food Cravings: No real craving although this week sushi good, I could definitely go for a crazy tuna roll!!
Aversions: Not currently....
Symptoms: MJ thinks my bladder is a trampoline...I've been waking up 4-5 times a night for the bathroom! And the usual increase appetite, nasal congestion, acid reflux.  Back pain, although I think this is a lot more Zumba related than pregnancy related. I'm giving myself a Zumba timeout for a week or two to see how it feels.
Best Moment this past week: Getting to see new picture of my niece/nephew. Jordan and Steph had their 21 week appointment and the did NOT find out what they are having, we get to wait till June to find out!
Milestones: Truly the Second Trimester by every one's standard!
What I'm looking forward to: Spending Valentine's Day with my baby's daddy :) Getting the upstairs bedrooms organized, we're not clearing out MJ's room yet but we are in need of some major cleaning house!

Thirteen!

Dave just asked me today "when do you start showing? You'll like almost halfway through." Awww Dave, you're cute but 13 weeks is not even close to halfway, we're just over the 1/4 way point. I had to show him a picture of the belly progression so far...

Looks to me like it's growing!!

Although it depends on the time of day and what I'm wearing.

How Far Along: 13 weeks
How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of a peach!  Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords...savor this, their nonfunctional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with his head now only one third the size of his body. And intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy -- much more convenient.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 0 this week (+5 total)
Maternity Clothes: The scale might not have changed from last week but my waistline sure has, using the BeBand with the majority of ALL my pants now. Looks like a shopping trip is in order this week for maternity pants :)
Gender: Counting down the weeks till we find out, 7ish! Most likely a girl...I already know everything for a boy, the bedding, the color scheme, the color furniture, and a name that I love all for a boy. I got nothing for girl yet which means MJ is probably a girl! Dave told me he wishes our appointment was this week because he's tired of everyone guess what we are having and he just wants to know already. Mainly it's because everyone keeps saying it's a girl....I think he just wants to prepare himself, lol.
Movement: None yet but baby sure is growing with the light cramping I've had the last two days, the uterus is getting bigger.
Sleep: Getting more and more tired. I think my trimesters got confused. Waking up about 3 times a night for the bathroom but usually always fall back asleep rather quickly.
Belly button in or out? In.
What I miss: Nothing!
Food Cravings: No real craving, but chocolate milk always sounds delicious and tastes pretty amazing!
Aversions: Not currently....although I did get sick this morning not sure if was from my breakfast or something else, my stomach didn't feel well the majority of the rest of the day until later tonight but luckily I only vomited that once.
Symptoms: Multiple bathroom breaks throughout the day and night. Increase appetite. Nasal congestion. I think I officially have acid reflux, the last few weeks I've woke up in the middle of the night with my throat burning and now it's starting to happen during the day shortly after I eat too. It's not heartburn since it's not in my chest, only my throat.
Best Moment this past week: Dave told me yesterday on our way home from a Super Bowl party we were at that the boy name I've LOVE LOVE LOVED for a long time now is starting to really grow on him!! It's the only boy name I hands down am in love with and will refuse to take it off the table
Milestones: There's debate on when it starts but three words - Second Trimester Baby!!!!
What I'm looking forward to: Everything!

1st purchase...

Baby's first purchase came in the mail and I could not be more excited...We are officially on the road to cloth diapering MJ!!

Cotton Babies was having a deal, buy 2 get one Free on certain colors/patterns for the BunGenius 4.0. I've been doing A LOT of reading on-line and really liked them on the Internet but wanted to see what they were like in person. Last week I decided to purchase a set to see how I would like them, and I loved them! BumGenius don't go on sale too often from what I read and in the last year have only seen a deal for buy 5 get 1 free (I've been researching for a while). This is a better deal! So I thought since it was such a great deal and I liked them, that I would buy the other 3 to choose from. I just got them in the mail today. It's made me pretty excited about cloth diapering! 

See they really look like a disposable but aren't.

These cloth diapers are called pocket diapers, each came with 2 inserts (a soaker and a newborn) that you stuff in the "pocket" for absorbency. These are an All In One (AIO) diaper which basically is the closest to how a disposable works, once it's dirty you put on an entire fresh AIO diaper.

AIO pocket diaper, soaker insert and the newborn insert (it's thinner)

Dave even practiced the first day we got them ;)

I don't plan on using all BunGenius AIO pocket diapers. There are one or two other types I'm wanting to get that I know will be even more "Dad Friendly". Just got to wait for some more deals! 

Even though just getting introduced to cloth diapers is completely overwhelming as there is so many different brands and types of diapers out there, I'm looking forward to getting started. Even with some of the negative comments people have made. A girl Dave works with (who does NOT cloth diaper) told him I was going to regret using cloth diapers. Every one still thinks cloth diapering involves a rubber cover, a cloth and pins....it's NOT!! They have come a looong long way, as you can see, and I am determined to not only save money, use chemicals free diaper (as disposables aren't), less trash, and of course the environment.   

There are pretty limited resources here in the QCA and unfortunately I only know one or two people that actually cloth diaper so it's really hard to have support or get advice. Although I did find there is a cloth diaper consultant in Bettendorf!! I'm thinking of contacting her, she's from Diaper Parties by Everything Birth. Which is like how it sounds, just like you can have a Lia Sophia or 31 party, you can have a cloth diaper party!!!  The consultant will come to your house with an entire cloth diaper kit full of all types and brands of diapers and accessories to try out and test. You can find out what you like in person rather than just looking on the Internet or ordering on-line then having to return if you don't like them. Although I'm not sure any of our friends and family would be interested in a party, the consultants can do presentations and one-on-ones. I think this is a great idea and want to at least do the one-on-one!!