Hello 3rd Trimester!

Weeks 27 and 28

How far along?: 29 weeks today

Total weight gain: Same as last time - 16 pounds

How big is baby?: Week 27: Cauliflower; Week 28: Iceburg Lettuce; Week 29: Butternut Squash

Sleep?: Still sleeping okay, although it can be hard to fall asleep when I feel he's moving around in there. It's also tough to fall back to sleep after I doze off on the couch.

Best moment?: I went to a friends bachelorette party (dinner/sleepover) on Saturday night and it was awesome seeing how excited the girls were feeling him move.

Movement?: Now it's more like tsunami waves in my stomach more than kicks, although those jabs still happen pretty often. It's crazy when he shifts position and my stomach is completely uneven.

Other symptoms: Nothing too painful but after a trip to the dentist I was informed I have pregnancy gingivitis. I think it's mild because my teeth don't bleed when I brush them, but apparantely my gums are a little inflamed in certain spots. I also failed my 1 hour glucose test so I'm going tomorrow for the 3 hour. Fingers and toes crossed I don't have gestational diabetes. I feel like it's been one issue after the other with these stupid tests.

Food cravings?: None

Food aversions: None

Labor signs?: None

Belly button in or out?: Still flat and I think it's slowly becoming an outie

What I miss: On Friday there were a few things I could have gone for after talking to people around the office: sushi, alcohol and hot yoga. It was a Friday during Lent so people had sushi all over the place, several of which were the spicy tuna rolls I love. That marked tease #1. Tease #2 was talking to someone about how great hot yoga is.. I'm counting down the months till I can take a class again. Our office did a happy hour in honor of National Margarita Day.. after the week I had I could totally have gone for a margarita, and they definitely didn't have any virgins.

Milestones: Starting the 3rd Trimester and getting the nursery set up. The crib, dresser and glider are all in and Rob did a great job getting the room ready. Now it's just a matter of slowly getting the stuff we need before he arrives!

Weeks 25 and 26

How far along?: Kicking off 27 weeks today!

Total weight gain: 16 pounds as of this morning, which marked the start of week 27

How big is baby?: Week 25: zucchini/canteloupe; Week 26: eggplant; Week 27: cauliflower

Sleep?: Still getting my sleep and starting to get tired early again.. probably because I'm approaching the third trimester

Best moment?: Getting to check in on my little guy during a sonogram and seeing that everything is growing healthy and on track (in fact, they said he's about 9 days ahead of schedule so we'll see if he ends up coming early). At 26 weeks 3 days he was already 2.2 and apparantely hamming it up in there. He seems to look like Rob.. bald and his mouth was open the entire time :)

Movement?: Still loving every time he moves!. I think I'm really cherishing every kick, punch and sumersault since I know we only have a few months left of this special time together. It's crazy how he really boogies when he wants to and is quiet other times. Like when I first felt the kicks, now I like laying down with my shirt up a little so I can see when he moves in the belly. So cool and such a little miracle!

Other symptoms: Still just the occasional heartburn

Food cravings?: Although I like a cold glass of milk, there are still no weird or intense cravings to report.. boo!

Food aversions: Still none

Labor signs?: None

Belly button in or out?: My innie is definitely gone and I'm afraid to say it, but I'm pretty sure that by the end I'll have an outie for the first time in my life.

What I miss: That disposable income would still be nice lol

Milestones: Rob got promoted to Area Director of Sales (I'm calling him ADOS) and we both turned 30. That's enough of a milestone for me!

Here's some shots from our 26 week sonogram:

Where does the time go? Weeks 22, 23 and 24

Weeks 22, 23, 24

How far along?: 25 weeks today
Total weight gain: 15 pounds as of this morning, which marked the start of week 25
How big is baby?: Week 22: papaya; Week 23: pomegranate; Week 24: grapefruit; Week 25: zucchini/canteloupe
Sleep?:Surprisingly, yes - and better than the first trimester
Best moment?: When my mom told me she'll throw me a baby shower. Even though it will be very small and with just one side of the family, it is still very touching since it's the only one I'll have.
Movement?: Yes and I love it. Although our "routine" of morning and evening kicks has changed, it's nice to feel the surprise kicks or punch. I love the little miracle growing inside me!
Other symptoms: So far I've been very lucky and haven't had any symptoms besides the occasional heartburn. Despite what Rob says, I don't think I've been very emotional.. just one issue gets me upset.
Food cravings?: Still no cravings to report. If anything, I really don't want to eat anything as nothing appeals to me, but force myself to eat for my little guy
Food aversions: Still none
Labor signs?: None
Belly button in or out?: Flattened out more. My innie is definitely gone!
What I miss: I miss having a somewhat disposable income. I always watched what I spent but now everything I do I have to compare to what we need for the baby. I'm sure it will be worth it but right now its tough.. baby stuff is expensive!
Milestones: I got ride of my cute, sporty Mazda 3 GT for a 2013 Chevy Equinox. It's not a full mom mobile but for me it's a big step.

Weeks 20 and 21

Weeks 20 and 21

How far along?: 22 weeks today
Total weight gain: 11 pounds as of this morning, which marked the start of week 22
How big is baby?: Week 20: banana; Week 21: carrot; Week 22: Papaya
Sleep?: Yes, but I have a cold so waking up with a sore throat and congestion isn't fun
Best moments?: Finding out we have a healthy baby boy on the way
Movement?: Yes and I love it. I'm getting used to when he's most active (at night) although it still catches me off guard when I'm doing something else (e.g. working at my desk) and feel tapping and punching coming from inside my belly
Other symptoms: Still the occasional heartburn but the best symptom was the giggles I had around the holidays. The smallest thing would set me off into crazy nonstop laughter. For example, on Christmas Eve I was cutting cake for my grandfather - not very well I might add - to take home and he thought I was giving him the other piece. I guess you just had to be there but I was nearly on the floor laughing. Then during Christmas Day dinner I had two incidents of crazy giggles: 1) when my dad was making a big deal of the rosemary bread he got from the bakery, and apparently I was too busy eating that could have cared less. People thought it was funny and when they re-enacted it I couldn't stop laughing. Then we were talking about this one recipe with breadcrumbs and just the word sent my mashed potatoes flying out of my mouth and me keeling over with laughter.
Food cravings?: Honestly, no cravings to report. Just trying to eat healthy. I think Rob plays the cravings card more than I do.
Food aversions: Still none.
Labor signs?: None
Belly button in or out?: Starting to flatten out a bit but still technically an innie
What I miss: Being able to carry heavier stuff. I hate having to rely on Rob to carry the heavier things for me since I used to be able to do most of them. Yesterday in my cleaning frenzy I did move the living room coffee table and rug (I'm type A, so it had to be properly centered) all by myself. I moved it slowly but it probably wasn't the best thing for me to do.
Milestones: Since this recap fell around the holidays I have a lot of special moments:

• Telling more people that we're pregnant and letting them know we're having a little boy
• The gender reveal cake cutting on Christmas Even.. the pictures are priceless!
• Identifying what baby decor we'd like to use for the room (it's a puppy sports theme and luckily something we both agree on!)
• Cleaning out the closets and making room for baby. I forgot how much crap we have tucked away
• Narrowing down the furniture to a few sets I really like
• Getting the Coach diaper bag that I wanted for Christmas.. fun how it's the little things in life now haha
• Finally starting to show, although some days I just feel fat

2013 Resolutions

2013 is shaping up to be a big year, with several weddings, celebratory events and most importantly to Rob and I, our first baby! This year, I've narrowed my resolutions to three key initiatives:

1. Be the best wife and mother I can be: I know I nag Rob a lot about stuff to do around the house, and my type A-personality drives him nuts, so this year I will try to be more patient. I'll also try to be the best mother I can be to our baby and enjoy each minute with our little bundle.
2. My health: I'd like to keep up with eating healthy and exercising. I know winter is tough to walk outside when it's freezing out, but doing little things like yoga or making my way up to the gym will go a long way.
3. Keep plugging away two of my standard resolutions: curse less and don't text while driving

2012 Resolution Recap

Below are last year's resolutions and how I did with those goals. Looking back I'm happy with how I did, although there are certain things that no matter how much I try they're hard to stick to.

• Be more patient - I tried and feel I accomplished this by being more patient with family drama. I did not succeed in being more patient while driving
• Curse less - ehh.. I try but never do too well with this
• Exercise (aim for at least three times per week) - I feel like I did pretty good, and had a really good running routine for most of the year
• Try one new recipe per month - If you count how I tried multiple new recipes per month, I'm sure that would add up to more than 12. I will admit, I slacked off a bit mid-year
• Have better posture - Made a concious effort but could always improve
• Don't text while driving - I tried but could always be better at this. At least in the first part of the year I only really used my phone while stuck in traffic (and if you know NJ, that's pretty often!)
• Don't rest my hands on my face - Made a concious effort
• Be better about communicating with family members - Was good with this for the first part of the year
• Travel to someplace new - check! Went to London and Paris
• Start a family - check!! Rob and I started our family and our little baby will be here this spring! :)

Buster's 8th Birthday!

I'm really behind on this post, but back on October 29th my little Buster Bear celebrated his 8th Birthday! Luckily we had power when we sang happy birthday to him but lost it shortly after for a full week due to Hurricane Sandy. After that we went our our trip to London and Paris, came home and were in the full swing of the holidays. That's why this is going up nearly two months later.

Below are a few photos of Buster's birthday cupcake celebration. I found this great doggie bakery in Boonton called the Bubba Rose Biscuit Company that had really awesome homemade treats - everything from cupcakes to real cakes and even cannolis and a variety of cookies. He absolutely loved this cupcake (I think it was made of carrots and peanut butter with the carob topping). So cute!

Poor Buster has had bad weather on his birthday for the last two years. Two years ago it was a freak snowstorm and resulted in us losing power for 4 days. This year it was Hurricane Sandy that left us cold and without power again (well, we had a small generator to keep the fridges going and some lights) for a week. Hopefully next year our little baby will be good luck and Buster will have good weather, power for his birthday, and a little brother to share the treats with!