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Pregnancy: 32 Weeks

January 28th, 2012 . Posted in Daily Outfits, Pregnancy, Third Trimester | No Comments »

 

32 Weeks Pregnant:  Jicama

This week I am 32 weeks pregnant! Baby Berry is now about 16.7 inches head to heel and weighs about 3.75 lbs (about as much as a large jicama).  I totally have no clue what a Jicama is, but it looks sorta like a coconut and 3.75 lbs for a coconut sounds about right, so I just image baby is about that size.  I am starting to get a little more uncomfortable and I am certainly a little more hungry as well.  It is funny how you can tell that baby is going through a growth spurt.  We are going to the doctor every two weeks at this point, which makes this feel all the more real.  We are making the list of the things we really must have before baby gets here.  Worse comes to worse Toy-R-US is across the street from the hospital and there is a Target in the mall which is actually attached to my hospital via a skywalk.  Eric loves to eat at food courts in malls, so I figured the least I could do is give him somewhere to go people watch while I am recovering.

You’re gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he’ll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

32 WEEKS PREGNANT:

Current Weight: 160lbs  (+3lb last week, +28 lbs total)

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Maternity Photos

January 27th, 2012 . Posted in Pregnancy, Third Trimester | 1 Comment »

I bit the bullet and singed up for someone to take our maternity photos to mark the moment.  I say that I bit the bullet because I was not really into having them done.  I just don’t feel super cute at this point and I really did not want my picture taken.  Although I take my picture every single week, so I really do not know why this is so different, but in my mind it was a big deal and when it was happening it was still a big deal.  I had the photos done by a friend of a friend and she was not bad but we did not have a great experience as she is not really that experienced.  As Eric put it, she is a picture taker, not a photographer.  The truth is she is not Robyn and I of course held that against her going in!  I am glad that I went ahead and had them done and that I have decided to use someone else for Baby Berry’s Newborn photos.  Baby Berry’s photos are going to be an “investment”, but I have seen this girl’s work and am positive that I will be satisfied and I know these will be pictures that I will want to reference for years to come so I need to make sure I am happy with them.  Her fee is not really that bad it is the fact that you have to purchase a certain amount and her prices are higher than I am used to, but I am used to printing my photos from my camera at Walgreens, so it really probably is not that bad after all.

Anyway back to the reason for this post, maternity pics.  She did not take that many, which was part of my disappointment.  She took ONE photo and then had us move, so if my eyes were closed or something like that that, it was actually one of the photos that she sent me as a proof.  I actually purchased this one because on Facebook where I had to pick them from, I wasn’t able to tell that.  Now it is hanging in my hallway with my eyes closed, just because I paid for it, I am keeping it up there until I figure out what to replace it with.  She kept asking us what to do next, she really did not have any ideas.  Then at one point she had us wait for about 15 minutes to use a bridge that other people were taking pictures on and then we only took two photos on that bridge.  That time came out of my hour session.  Then her ordering processes was ridiculous.  One of the photos I picked in a 8×10 did not crop right, so without asking me she ordered it in an 8×12.  Then e-mailed me and told me she upgraded it and hoped I did not buy frames yet.  Well of course I bought frames, that was my mother’s photo that goes in the same frame that it always does.  As I send her a new picture she replaces it and my brother’s frame is the same one, so you can not just change it.  Like I said she is not Robyn and at least I know that and I will just move on to someone else for the next time! 

There is no reason to tell you who it was because no one that reads my blog lives in my area and if you asked who it was I would tell you but would not just ruin her name like that.  The point is I do not think she is a bad person and I wish her the best and hope that maybe she is inexperienced and that she will improve.  Truth be told I am also a hormonal pregnant lady who may be unrealistic some days, just some days!

 

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3-D pictures of Baby Berry

January 26th, 2012 . Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

I was not really interested in doing the 3-D ultrasound, because it is just to get a look at your baby again.  I feel him all the time, I am 100% aware that he is in there!  Plus they sorta freak me out, I am not really a big fan of the 3-D pics, but I am sure I will appreciate the memories later.  There is absolutely no medical benefit what-so-ever, but at the end of the day I bit the bullet and scheduled it.  The truth is Eric did not get to go to the anatomy ultra-sound so he has not seen Baby Berry in action.  He was at the 7 week ultrasound which tells you that there is a baby in there, that  is about it.  If he could not go to this one, I would have cancelled it.  I went okay, but baby was sucking on his toes most of the time which caused his foot to block his face.  When the tech tried to get him to move his foot and he did not it was assurance to Eric that it is my baby because he was clearly being stubborn.  (Eric’s sweet words of course)

Awesome picture of Baby Berry’s Foot:

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Frontal view of his face, with his foot again.

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Frontal of the face, you can see his nose and his foot again.  Eric says he has the Roberts’ nose, meaning you can not miss it.

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Pregnancy: 31 Weeks

January 25th, 2012 . Posted in Daily Outfits, Pregnancy, Third Trimester | No Comments »

31 Weeks Pregnant: 4 Navel Oranges

This week baby and I did a bit of traveling.  Eric, Luke, Baby Berry and myself packed our bags and headed to Birmingham to visit our families for the Christmas Holiday.  We traveled at night for the most part as I wasn’t actually off and with Christmas Eve and Christmas being on the weekend I had to be somewhere so I could continue working.  My job is still really flexible, but I just couldn’t be in the car all day on a work day.  Eric has a ton of vacation left over, mainly because I kept switching jobs and losing all my vacation and then we can not go anywhere.  He also gets three weeks a year at this point and I only get one with my job I have now.  One week of vacation is not much, but as I have said before I love my new job and the other benefits in my mind out way the cons, like lack of actual vacation and not being paid for maternity leave do not compare to working at home in my PJ’s and taking a nap on my lunch break if I need too.  Seriously, some people go to the gym, some people eat lunch out with friends and some people nap in their bed that is walking distance from their desk.  At this point I happen to spend my time doing the latter.  Not really, I have only done it twice in three months, but I was so thankful and refreshed after my “lunch break.”

Baby and I did alright traveling.  We did not love being in the car so long, but I can not say that I love the car when I am not pregnant, so it was not too much of a change.  We are back home and unpacking as well as putting away all the lovely prizes that we and baby berry received!!!  Not that anyone will be too surprised but Baby Berry was certainly spoiled already for a Christmas he did not actually attend.

Baby is now a little over 16 inches head to heel and weighs about 3.3 lbs (about as much as four navel oranges).
Here’s how baby is developing this week:

With each added layer of baby fat, your baby’s wrinkly raisin skin starts to look more and more like it will when they’re born.
The heavy news: you can expect your miracle-gro muffin to gain about a half a pound of weight per week from now until about two weeks before birth.
Your baby’s developing immune system has made some serious gains over the past weeks getting them in full gear to face our disease-ridden world o’ wonders.

31 Weeks Pregnant:

Current Weight: 157bs  (+3lb last week, +25 total)

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This whole working at home thing and getting bigger and bigger everyday not inspiring my fashion bug!  Although looking at these pictures makes me want to try a little harder!  I probably will not try harder though! In my defense I was about to get in the car to travel 10.5 hours through the night to Birmingham, I think that is a pretty good excuse.

Pregnancy: 30 Weeks

December 17th, 2011 . Posted in Daily Outfits, Pregnancy, Third Trimester | 1 Comment »

To do list:

  1. Find a daycare
  2. Find a Pediatrician
  3. Take a birthing class
  4. Finish reading 1 baby book
  5. Finish the nursery
  6. Buy baby necessities, ie car seat
  7. Name the Baby something other than Samantha
  8. Why this list is so short, because there is so much to do that I can not even think.

30 Weeks:  Cabbage

Your baby’s about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it’s not very keen; even after she’s born, she’ll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she’ll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

30 Weeks Pregnant:

Current Weight: 154bs  (+0lb last week, +22 total)

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Pregnancy: 29 Weeks

December 15th, 2011 . Posted in Daily Outfits, Pregnancy, Third Trimester | No Comments »

Baby and I are extremely thankful to be working from home.  I really do not know how I would be able to function at this point if I had to add 2.5 to 3 hours onto my day for just getting ready in the morning and travel time.  Honestly it is more than that because I had gotten into the habit of waking up 45 minutes early to sit in the bed while eating my breakfast and drinking my one cup of coffee attempting to wake up.  Only after that 45 minutes or more would I get up and start my getting ready routine. 

Now that I get up at 15 minutes to 8:00 and walk into my “office” at 8:00 I am much more rested and I enjoying working at this point.  When your job is just about job and not about other people and office politics and/or drama it is extremely peaceful.  I am very thankful for this blessing! 

Other than work I am up for doing more at night, as in grocery shopping, cooking, a load of laundry here and there, but that is about it.  I am not done with my Christmas Shopping, but it will happen.  I have not wrapped anything, let alone send gifts out in the mall.  I am not worrying about it, it will all get done at some point.

29 Weeks:  Butternut Squash

Baby is the size of a butternut squash.  Your baby is as big as a butternut squash, weightwise — about 2 1/2 pounds. (Length: a tad over 15 inches, head to heel.)

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you’ll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby’s hardening skeleton each day.

 

28 Weeks Pregnant:

Current Weight: 154bs  (+2lb last week, +22 total)

  • Stripped Shirt: Old Navy (no longer available)
  • Skinny Jeans: Gap Maternity

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Pregnancy: 28 Weeks

December 10th, 2011 . Posted in Daily Outfits, Pregnancy, Third Trimester | 1 Comment »

This week, Thanksgiving Week, officially marks the start of my third trimester.  At times I think that this pregnancy is going very fast and then other times I think that it is going very very slow!  Even though it feels like I have been pregnant for a while I am starting to realize that this baby will be here soon and not totally ready for it!  I have been assured that everyone goes through this but that does not make the doubt in my head go away. 

I feel like at this point I have to start making decisions on things that will effect my baby for the rest of his life.  One that I really need to decide on by the time I go to my next doctor’s visit is what to do about baby’s cord blood?  Did you save your baby’s cord blood or do you know people that did.  My doctor does not really seem to have much of an opinion on this one.  She is more in the frame of mind of what ever is best for you and your family.  In the state of Texas they have to give you the information and let you make the decision, so I am thinking that that might be part of neutral presentation as well.  I understand that it expensive, but I also couldn’t bare to think what if I had just saved that cord blood, if I do happen to need it done the line.  Then if you do store it for baby number 1 what do you do about future children, do you save theirs too.  Considering you are the one paying the yearly storage fee for it do you make it public or private.  I am leaning towards private, but then again that seems awfully selfish in the long run.  What if some other child dies because I did not share my cord blood……  I am really starting to become aware that the decisions I make now will effect my baby berry for many many years to come, welcome to parenthood!

28 Weeks:  Chinese Cabbage

Baby is the size of a Chinese cabbage.  Your baby is equal in weight to a Chinese cabbage — about 2 1/4 pounds. (Length: almost 15 inches, from head to heel.)

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She’s also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

 

 

28 Weeks Pregnant:

Current Weight: 152bs  (+2lb last week, +20 total)

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Pregnancy: 27 Weeks

December 7th, 2011 . Posted in 2nd trimester, Daily Outfits, Pregnancy | 1 Comment »

 

This week I was blessed with the news of a new job.  I had an old colleague of mine reach out to me about a “Work From Home IT Project Manager Position”, with her company.  She owns a small company and her company did business with the company that I worked for before the one that I am with now. (I switched to the one I am with now this summer for a Senior PM position.)  She heard from another old colleague of mine that also no longer works for that company either, that I am pregnant.  She got back in touch with me through getting my contact info from him and e-mailed me about talking to her about a work from home position. 

I interviewed with her on the phone, basically to make sure what she is offering and what I am wanting matches up because I already know the job and she knows what I bring to the table because we have worked together in the past.  After our phone interview on Saturday she told me that she would be making me an offer and would get back to me, but it would probably be a week or so.  This was on the Saturday that I actually ended up going to the hospital that night.  I really did not want to get my hopes up, but after being in the hospital I was really looking forward to this opportunity which also includes the ability to go part-time.  My current job would allow it, but it is not the norm and it is not the norm to work from home.  I know that they would let me do those things, but I want to do those things in an environment where that is normal and not a special treatment situation, so I was really looking forward to the opportunity that may be in my future.

It was now one week from the phone interview and I was in Birmingham at my parents house for my baby shower.  Late Saturday night I got the official offer letter for my new work from home job, doing exactly the same thing I was doing in my other past two positions.  I accepted the offer and I went to work on that next Monday, at 27 Weeks Pregnant, and turned in my two week notice.  They asked me if there was anything that they could do and offered me more money.  I told them that the situation of my new job is really the best for me at this point in my life.  I agreed to work out a two week notice (of course) which actually came down to one week and three days due the next week being the week of Thanksgiving.

I am very thankful for my new position for so many reasons.  I am excited about working somewhere that I have the liberty to change the scope of my job down the line.  I want to work after I have my baby, but I am not sure that I want to work full-time, I have yet to figure that out.  My new boss is aware of all these thoughts and uncertainties that are going through my head and she understands that I do not have all the answers yet. 

27 weeks: Cauliflower

Your baby is as hefty as a head of cauliflower, weighing in at almost 2 pounds. (Length: about 14 1/2 inches.)

Sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby’s brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don’t bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

 

 

27 WEEKS PREGNANT:

Current Weight: 152lbs  (+2lb last week, +20 total)

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Pregnancy: 26 Weeks

December 4th, 2011 . Posted in 2nd trimester, Daily Outfits, Pregnancy | No Comments »

Still recovering from my visit at to the hospital, typically I would not have done too much, but I already had a trip planned to Birmingham for the weekend.  Back when I went to visit Mom and Dad when I was first pregnant Mom decided that she would throw me a baby shower on Veteran’s Day weekend.  You can not fly and should not travel in your third trimester. (actually you are not supposed to fly in your first trimester either, but I did and you are certainly not supposed to go overseas like I did!)  Mom had planned on doing this shower in Birmingham from the get go so she planned it for the end of my Second Trimester so that I would be able to attend!  I was still pretty worn out from my hospital visit and my week of taking it easy, but other than having to run through the airport barefoot and pregnant after almost missing our flights everything else was fairly stress-less for me.  My awesome shower certainly deserves a post of its own, so that will be coming shortly.

For now I am thankful to my lovely hostess; Mom, Cathy, Lindsay, Carol and Kendelea.

26 Weeks: English Hothouse Cucumber

Baby is the size of an English hothouse cucumber.  Your baby is as tall as an English hothouse cucumber and weighs about 1 2/3 pounds. (Length: 14 inches, head to heel.)

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.

 

26 WEEKS PREGNANT:

Current Weight: 150lbs  (+2lb last week, +18 total)

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Pregnany: 25 Weeks

November 29th, 2011 . Posted in 2nd trimester, Daily Outfits, Pregnancy | 2 Comments »

 

REPOST:

****I posted this as 25 Weeks, which it is, but with the 27 Week Fruit/ Vegetable Status……Pregnancy Brain****

This was not the best week for baby berry.  The weekend started out well and busy.  Eric and I threw a couples baby shower for our friends Kate and Peter.  A Green Bay Packers Themed shower, Kate is a big fan and baby Claudia certainly needed a shower to stock up on her Pink Packers Gear.  Toward the end of the night I was not feeling great, but I chalked it up to a long day and took a seat on the couch while things wrapped up. 

Once all of our guests left I retired to my bed while Eric cleaned up from the party.  While I certainly appreciated this, I could have done without the balloon popping, but as he said, “that’s how you get ride of them.”  I later decided that maybe a bath would help.  I rested in the bath for a while and then returned to my bed.  I later decided that maybe a walk would help.   Eric and I went for a walk close late that night and once we made it back home I retired to the bed again.  Suddenly I felt the need to throw-up.  I am one of those people that eventually feel better after throwing up a few times, so I was really looking forward to getting whatever over with so I could feel better.  This time I had no such luck.  I ended up throwing up off and on for hours.  I was at the point where there was absolutely nothing left in my stomach, but I was still throwing up, but there was nothing in my tummy.

Considering we were at the point of no return and baby berry was beginning to get very angry we decided to take a trip to the emergency room.  I was reluctant to go because I knew that this meant that I would be staying the night in the hospital, but like a good girl I went.  When you go to the emergency room while being 25 weeks pregnant with severe abdominal pain and vomiting you do not wait.  You are wheeled directly to the labor and delivery wing.  Now I knew I would have to go to the maternity wing, but really do they have to say “labor and delivery”, that is a little scary.

After a few rounds of anti nausea meds that did not work they were finally able to give me something that made me stop vomiting, which made the baby stop contracting and relax, which also allowed baby and I to get some rest.   Once I woke up about three hours later around 9:00 AM, all I wanted to know was what time I could go home!  I had to keep down my clear liquid breakfast while Eric enjoyed an Omelet with a side of bacon at my bed side.  We were home and in bed with meds by noon. 

While visiting the hospital was not what I had in mind but we did learn our way around the hospital, that it takes less than 5 minutes to get to the hospital, where to park, how to order breakfast for Eric, that they have socks, heated blankets and many other useful tips.

25 weeks: Rutabaga

Baby is the size of a rutabaga.  Your baby rivals the average rutabaga in weight — about 1 1/2 pounds. (Length: 13 1/2 inches, head to heel.)

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.

 

25 WEEKS PREGNANT:

Current Weight: 148lbs  (+0lb last week, +16 total)

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