3rd Trimester!

Caleb is 26 weeks old now and according to some books, I'm in my third trimester. Some books say 26 weeks, some say 27. Either way, it's getting close! Pregnancy is going by fast, and I'm kind of thankful for that. There are some parts of pregnancy that I really like, for example, feeling Caleb move. But for the most part, I will be happy to be done being pregnant and have Caleb on the outside.

As promised, I took a bunch of close up pictures of the nursery and I'm including them below.


Ethan and I had a great Christmas. First we drove to Yakima to visit my parents and open presents. We stopped by to see some friends before heading back over the pass and home to Renton. The pass was gorgeous. There was light snow, and you could see all the mountain peaks in the sunshine. We were thankful for that because usually it's a mess trying to drive over in the winter.

Back home, I cooked up a turkey, stuffing, and a pumpkin cheesecake and we had family over on Christmas day. This weekend, we have just been relaxing and getting some work done around the house. Ethan is busy clearing out the 4th bedroom, which has been full of boxes and papers since we moved in, and I went through all of my clothes and sorted out donations, throw aways, and clothes that need to be packed away until I fit into them again. Unfortunately that's most of my wardrobe, but at least my closet is organized :)

For Christmas, Ethan got me a Kindle, and I have already bought 4 books for it. I really love it! It's so convenient, and I won't miss having a hundred cheap paperbacks laying around my bedroom. He also got me some blu-ray DVDs. I got him a surround sound system. He installed it yesterday and it sounds awesome!

We started to think more seriously about childcare options this past week. I looked around at some live-out nannies and realized how expensive they are. I am not that naive, I knew that nannies weren't cheap, but I didn't bargain on $2500 plus a month. Right now, Ethan and I are evaluating our budget and trying to keep our options open to a number of different things, so next week we are checking out a daycare, talking to some friends about and Au-Pair, and also going to "interview" a potential live-in nanny, who is an old friend of mine from way back. I'm sure we'll figure out the best option for us.

Now I have to wrap up this blog post because Ethan and I are going to watch the Harry Potter DVD that he got me for Christmas :)

How far along: 26 Weeks 2 Days
Sleep: OK. Lately I've been waking up at 5 am and not falling back to sleep until 7. :/
Best Moment This Week: Christmas!
Movement: Pretty much same as last week - lots of strong kicks.
Food Cravings: Ugh, no. Unfortunately I think I ate something bad at some point and my stomach has been cramping up for the past two days. It's getting better though. At least it's keeping me away from all those leftover goodies!
What I miss most: Not too much, all is good in pregnancy land this week.
What I'm looking forward to: Visiting the Mountainside Daycare tomorrow. I have high hopes.
This Week (from the BabyCenter): The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

25 Weeks

This week was all about the nursery! Ethan and I spent most of the week putting together furniture and decorating (thanks to Jen and Neil who helped us with the dresser). I really love the way it came out! So, without further delay, here are the pictures:





I think we need better close ups of the cute little items on the shelves, so I'll try to get that next week. The pictures on the wall are animal alphabet cards that we ordered off of Amazon and Ethan framed. Some of my favorite things are the little lamp, the monkey clock, and the alphabet blocks that we put up on the shelves.

I also went on a hunt for nursery organization stuff. I mostly just wanted canvas storage bins to put on the shelves in the closet, which i found at the Container Store. It took me forever and two trips to the Container Store (I returned the first stuff I bought) to find canvas bins that worked, which was surprising since I thought it would be so easy. On Sunday, I went to Babies R Us and discovered that they have tons of storage stuff exactly like I wanted, so I kind of felt like I should have gone their first. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

As I write this, the laptop is sort of on my lap and I think Caleb can hear me typing or something because he's kicking like crazy and the laptop is bouncing off my stomach. Haha! it's funny how much stronger he is now. When I am at work, I look down and see my belly jumping around like there is popcorn popping in there. I often laugh at my own stomach in the middle of a meeting, and then have to remind myself that I'm at work and supposed to be paying attention!

I'm really excited for Christmas this week! Ethan and I are going to Yakima to spend Christmas eve-eve with my mom and sister, and then on Christmas day I'm going to make my turkey and stuffing. I make an awesome Apple, Sausage and Sage stuffing that I really love (I know I'm patting myself on the back here) and I'm looking forward to eating that and having lots of left overs to munch on over the weekend.

Ethan and I both have the whole week after Christmas off and I'm not going back to work until after my birthday in January. I'm excited to have a little break, but hopefully I don't get too bored sitting around the house. Maybe I'll blog extra (maybe not though, I'm not the best at keeping up with the blog and Ethan has to remind me almost every week!).

Anyway, I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas/holiday time, and here is the baby update for the week:

How far along: 25 Weeks 3 Days
Sleep: Much better this week! I got a Neti Pot last week, and after a few days of consistent use, my pregnancy rhinitus is so much better! My nose still gets a bit stuffy at night, but not nearly as bad as before, and the burning and itching is mostly gone. I'm so happy I got a Neti Pot!
Best Moment This Week: Shopping and decorating Caleb's room with Ethan
Movement: Yup! Calebs kicks are getting harder and more consistent. I can see him from the outside a lot now. And he's like an octopus in there, I swear I can feel him in like 4 places at once sometimes.
Food Cravings: No. Lots of holiday treats to eat this week though. Today my boss gave me some homemade chocolate covered pretzel sticks and they were too good to resist.
What I miss most: I decided I'm not going to complain this week.
What I'm looking forward to: Christmas!
This Week (from the Bump.com): Baby is the size of an Eggplant. Let your spouse put an ear to your belly -- he might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

24 Weeks

Christmas is right around the corner and the holidays are in full swing! I had two holiday parties at work in the past week. Both were very kid oriented, but still fun. The first one was a "Planet Earth" theme. My work group (Finance) took over one of the large conference buildings and each room was made into a different theme to represent part of the earth (for example: under the sea) with corresponding food and drink. Ethan and I walked around, watched hula dancers, ate thai food and cupcakes, and listened to a jazz band in the Ice room. It was pretty fun. The other party was for the Windows group, and that was in my building. My work group had a snow man decorating contest with fake snowmen, and then we just ate and drank and walked around talking to people. It was fun.

Ethan's company doesn't have a Christmas party! I guess it's understandable, because it's such a big company, but still. He has the huge 787 launch coming up this week and gets to attend the "first flight" of the 787, which is a really big deal. He had to work overtime all weekend to help prepare for the big launch.

We also celebrated the first night of Hannukah this week. Unfortunately our menorah is packed away somewhere and we couldn't find it to light the candles on Friday. On Saturday our friends Becca and John brought their menorah over and we ate brisket and latkes and celebrated. I remembered almost the entire Hannukah prayer without having the words in front of me! Tonight, we had some family over for a little early Christmas party since we can't all be together Christmas morning. Caleb's aunt and uncle Elayna and Sean got us a really cute baby book to put photos and memories in for the first 5 years of his life.

In baby related news, Ethan painted the nursery this weekend! He has been working so hard on it for the past few days. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about the color, but I think it came out really nice. We also went shopping today and got the dresser and some great decorations for the room. I can't wait until the paint is dry so we can start putting stuff up. We'll probably do that next weekend.

I got a little nervous for Caleb this week because he went through a couple days where he hardly moved, but it must have been a growth spurt or something, because today he's been back at it and kicking as much as he ever did. Yesterday Ethan and I went to check out the birthing class we are signing up for, which is called Hypnobirthing, and we also found our doula. A doula is basically a birth helper who is there from the start of labor until the baby is born. She will mostly be there to guide Ethan and help him to help me when I need it. She will also do things like help me find more comfortable positions when I'm having contractions and stuff like that. I'm excited about having a doula, and I think it will be good for our birth experience, but man, I can't believe that we are already going to be starting birth classes soon! Time is flying!

Here is the baby update for the week:

How far along: 24 weeks, 2 days

Sleep: not so great. My sinuses have been acting up like crazy this week. I almost wonder if I have a sinus infection, but I think it's just normal pregnancy stuffiness. I bought a neti pot, which seems weird to use, but it is actually really helpful for clearing out my nose.

Best Moment This Week: Painting the baby room

Movement: I had some anxiety about it this week when Caleb was quiet for a couple days, but all is back to normal now.

Food Cravings: I'm trying to cut back on the junk. I don't know how successful I've been though. I made a batch of delicious chocolate chip cookies this weekend and I must have ate at least 10 of them over all. Sigh.

What I miss most: Not having burning, itchy sinuses

What I'm looking forward to: starting to put up our decorations in the nursery!

This Week: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

23 Weeks!

Caleb is growing a lot now! Unfortunately so is Caleb's mom! I found at at my last appointment that I gained 9 pounds in a month and I am not happy about it. I'm trying to cut back on the food intake and get more exercise each day. Hopefully I will only gain 2-4 pounds at my next appointment, which is on my Birthday in January. Over all, the weight gain is still on track, but obviously if I keep gaining 9 pounds a month I'm going to end up way over where I should be.

Other than the weight gain, everything is going really great. I got to hear Caleb's heart beat again and he is growing right on track for how far along I am. I can't believe I'm already over 5 months pregnant! It's going by so fast, but even still I can't wait for him to get here.

Ethan and I did our Christmas shopping today and tonight we're getting ready to send out the Christmas and Chanukah cards. I love the holiday season, but it sure can be exhausting! I'm really looking forward to the week and a half off between Christmas and New Years. Ethan is almost done with his classes for the quarter, which is a relief for both of us, but the next few weeks are super busy! We have birthday and holiday parties every weekend! Should be fun though :)

Here is the baby update for the week:

How far along: 23 weeks, 2 days
Weight: +16 pounds - still on track for how far along I am, but more than I had wanted at this point. That's what happens when you gain 9 pounds in a month :(

Sleep: eh, ok

Best Moment This Week: Seeing my belly move when Caleb kicks

Movement: Yup, I can even feel him standing up now. He moves pretty regularly

Food Cravings: I don't really have cravings, just hungry all the time. I really trying hard not to gain too much weight because I am gaining too fast.

What I miss most: Just being in better physical shape

What I'm looking forward to: Getting the fan installed and painting the nursery

This Week: (switching to Baby Center updates) Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.