baby

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Bumpdate Week 33

Week 33

How far along: 33 weeks…in the single digits of weeks left! Ahhhh!

Sex of Baby W: A boy is a noise with dirt on it.

Weight gain: I have gained 11 pounds, but it feels like so much more.

Size of Baby W: He should weigh around 4 pounds, or the size of a pineapple. It is hard to believe there is a pineapple hanging out in my stomach.

Maternity clothes: I am purely in either maternity tops or baggy/flowy items. I will say that I have been able to wear quite a few of my previously owned dresses because of their stretchy material. I can only wear my medium t-shirts (unless I want to try the crop top look) which has cut out about 85% of my t-shirt collection. Sad day, but on the flip side I am taking this opportunity to purge some shirts that I had been keeping for no reason. Donate! I have been getting self-conscious a lot because of the expanding belly and my image. I probably ask Tom at least a handful of times a day if I look OK. (I am pleased to report that he always says I look great.)

Baby items: We have really picked up our game this past month. With the help of our family, our registry doesn’t stress me out so much, and I am feeling a little more prepared with the things we need. There are only a few more things that we could use, but a lot of our bigger items have been taken care of. Now it is just those last little pieces, so if you are wanting to spoil or welcome George to the world our registries are still open at Target and Amazon! Tom and I (mostly Tom) worked on putting together the nursery furniture. We now have a crib and a couple bookshelves to add to our existing rocking chair!

Stretch marks: Not that I am aware of…

Belly button in or out: I have a flattie.

Sleep: This is getting more difficult. I flop around all night. I wake up probably every other hour because I ended up on my back or cannot get comfortable. But I haven’t had to get up to pee as often, so I guess there is a win there…

Best moment the past few weeks: Getting some more things done with the nursery

Worst moment the past few weeks: My step-grandmother had a stroke. It is hard to not be there for family. This week was also a big test in my effort to always look for the positives. Ugh sometimes life just throws you curve-balls…

dogs loving baby

I can’t help but smile with these two!

Miss anything: Shaving my legs normally. It’s like doing acrobats trying to shave my legs comfortably, which is not really possible. I miss steaks cooked the way I want. I do not like them cooked all the way, but that is the best way until George comes out. I miss eating normally, meaning I can’t lean over my plate comfortably. I am a messy/clumsy eater so I like to be over my plate like a normal person, but it makes me feel like I am squishing George and it hurts a little. Although, I am perfecting balancing plates on my belly.

Cravings: Perry Fosters BBQ. Any people from the Burg know what I am talking about? There is no way to cure this craving seeing as I am in KY and not MO.

Movement: Um this child is either 100% on or I wonder if he is alive he is so still. (Not kidding, I almost went to the hospital this weekend because he was so quiet in there.)

For the most part he is a little like this…

or this…

He has taken to sticking his hand or foot in the same spot right above my hip like he is trying to give us a high five or break out out of there karate chop style. This is a daily occurrence and now you can not only feel it but you can see him trying to protrude out of there…

He has also started rolling around which you can see, and it feels like a wave in my tummy, which I have to say is pretty cool. He still will sit mainly on my right side causing a lopsided belly. It looks and feels really odd, but I guess that is where he is most comfortable.

Symptoms/how I am feeling: I have had some discharge issues that has had to be monitored. Gross I know. I also have been having some severe tailbone pain. I can’t sit for very long before my butt is throbbing from pain. After consulting my OB, she said this is normal. However, because I broke my tailbone years ago, I am going to feel this pain even more than most women. Awesomely excruciating. George is also growing a lot faster than I am so it constantly feels like I pulled a muscle all over my stomach. I also want a nap every day. I have noticed that I have started the preggo waddle just a little bit too (more often than not it comes out when I am running to the bathroom.)

Looking forward to: Weekends. It is a time for me to relax and do lots of purging and reorganizing. Next up kitchen! We are also going to be getting our maternity pictures done soon!

33 weeks

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Bumpdate Week 30

Week 30

How far along: Holy Cow! 30 weeks! I can’t believe we are down to 10 weeks until George’s due date.

Sex of Baby W: We saw his little man parts this week.

Weight gain: I have gained 5 pounds…finally. And this is officially the most I have ever weighed in my entire life, which can be a downer when I see that at first. Then I remember I am growing a human.

Size of Baby W: Yesterday, he weighed in at 3 lbs and 3 oz. He is about the size of a large cabbage.

Maternity clothes: I am really not sure why we wear buttons in the first place. Maternity pants and lots of elastic are the best thing! It will be hard going back to regular pants that have zippers and buttons. Maybe I will start a clothing revolution against fasteners…

Baby items: We had both of our baby showers where George was given lots of love! I was excited to see all the books and clothes we got. Baby things are so adorable!

gifts

These are some of my favorite onsies we have gotten so far. We asked for books instead of cards to help build a library for George. It was so fun to see all the books and notes to George! I hope he is as excited about them someday as I am!

We do still have a lot of things we need so we are working to figure out what’s a necessity versus want. It stresses me out to see all the things on our registry, but I know it will all work out before he gets here. Although, Target is having huge baby sale (baby items, not actual babies) this week…

Stretch marks: I haven’t noticed any still. Our prenatal class instructor says that stretch marks can’t be prevented by any lotion. Either you are predisposed to get them or you aren’t. Regardless, I will still be lathering on the lotion morning and night to help with all the itching.

Belly button in or out: It’s just a little indent now. Maybe by the next update it will be flat.

Sleep: Well the nights of good sleep have gone away. I have been super restless, and pains in my legs have been waking me up. I am pretty sure I get charlie horses in my left leg almost every night. Have I mentioned that I HATE laying on my left side exclusively? I am thinking that some of this had to do with all the traveling we were doing too. So hopefully now that I am in our own bed for more than a couple nights a week, it will get a little better. 

Best moment the past few weeks: Seeing all the friends and family over the past few weekends. My heart is full. It was also great seeing George again on our ultrasound yesterday. It had been a couple months, and he has grown so much! I will admit though that I didn’t know what half the things we were looking at where until the ultrasound tech explained it. But he and I are measuring exactly where we need to be and everything looks fantastic from what our doctor says. Pretty good news indeed.

Worst moment the past few weeks: The traveling has taken a toll on the Whitener family.

Miss anything: Running. I never thought I would say that.

Cravings: Greasy pizza, which was satisfied by Shakespeare’s Pizza during one of our trips to Columbia, MO.

Movement: I feel like George is trying to break free through my belly button. He is like a solid rock hanging out right there or on my kidney. He kicks and flicks around a lot right after I eat. He doesn’t really do much in the morning, so he takes after his night-owl dad. It’s still fun to feel him move, but he is definitely getting stronger. There are moments now where he is a little painful. It was also really fun to see my 4 year old niece feel him move. Such a fun moment to share with her. Oh and he definitely high-fived Tom on command last week-not even kidding.

George

Not sure if you can tell, but my belly is lopsided. Where the arrow is pointing, that is George’s rump. My belly button is about an inch and a half to the left of the arrow for reference. He likes to stick his butt up and make his presence known at all times. (Also I was parked in my driveway when I took this picture. I was not driving in case you were concerned.)

Symptoms/how I am feeling: I have had a few bouts of nausea, but generally once I eat something I am fine. I am also getting a lot more exhausted. I can tell it takes a lot more out of me to walk the dogs every day, but I am still hitting the pavement with them. I could also do without the cramps.

Looking forward to: Now that we are not traveling as much anymore, we can actually get things organized and set up. I can’t wait to put everything up! We have a lot to do in ways of creating a space for George. This is his room right now…

2014-07-07 21.47.45

I am glad we are back to seeing the doctor every couple weeks. It is nice to be able to get that check up and make sure that everything is going well. It satisfies this worrying momma!

30 weeks

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Bumpdate Week 27

Bumpdate 27

How far along: 27 weeks! This is the last week of the second trimester. Only 88 days to go to! (Approximately)

Sex of Baby W: Boy oh boy

Weight gain: I still haven’t gained any additional weight…

Size of Baby W: He should be about 2 pounds and 14.5 inches long. Or the size of a head of cauliflower.

Maternity clothes: This last week, the one pair of pants that I was still able to button failed me. I don’t really feel like I have gotten any bigger nor have I gained weight. However, with the realization that I cannot button those jeans anymore, I snagged a pair of maternity jeans from the consignment store for cheap!

Baby items: We are starting to accumulate more George things. This is getting real friends. We decided to register for a bed instead of make one. There was just too much going on for us to worry about that project. Plus with registering, we could look for a convertible bed that we can use long past baby stages. My mom is awesome and got that for us, and we have also had a few other items trickle in thanks to friends! We are super blessed. While my mom was here a couple weeks ago, she and I worked on all the bedding for George. Between her sewing expertise and my newbie skills, we managed to crank out some things out that I am really proud of. Once we put the crib up, I will definitely share pictures of the final products. They are so delightful!

Stretch marks: Nothing yet! Score for my belly!

Belly button in or out: Still in, but it is definitely working on flattening out.

Sleep: I have actually been sleeping fairly well, with only a few nights a week when I need to make a pee run. I have had to up the pillows around me, so it basically looks like I have a wall of cushioning around me while I sleep. It’s kind of sad because it alienates the dogs from snuggling with me. But, I can’t depend on them to stay still all night, so pillows it is.

Best moment the past few weeks: My mom visiting

Worst moment the past few weeks: I thought it was the glucose test on Monday to see about gestational diabetes. They had me fast for 13 hours (ugh I am a foodie!) and then stuck me in a room for 3 hours watching Rachael Ray cook delicious food. Torture. But the worst moment was definitely the next day when we had a scare that George may be arriving a lot earlier than we thought. After a trip to the hospital, everything checked out normal, so no one freak out on me. At the time however, I was terrified while we waited for all the tests and the observations they did on me and Baby G. It was way too early to be in a delivery room. He was just having a grand ol’ time playing around in there; he must be honing his Whitener pranking skills early. Oh, and they think I peed my pants and was just having normal cramps. Well isn’t that what every 29 year old woman wants to hear? (And for the record, I know they are medical professionals, but I am positive that was not pee!)

Miss anything: Being able to wear my favorite swim suits and feeling comfortable in them. I did buy a “mom” suit for the summer that I like, but it’s just not the same.

Cravings: Not really. I guess I am boring in this category…

Movement: Holy cow is he moving and grooving now. He rolls, kicks, punches, and everything in between. I felt him have hiccups the other day, which is adorable. I also think that he can hear music because I notice a difference when certain things are on.

Symptoms/how I am feeling: Besides the beginning of this week, I have been feeling pretty good. I am definitely feeling more tired though lately. I am trying to take advantage of energy when I have it. I also haven’t been able to wear my contacts all the time like I normally do. I have read in a few places that it is normal for your contacts to be dryer than normal during pregnancy. Then add allergy goodness to that=this girl in glasses more often than not. My emotions have been all over the place; pregnancy hormones are real people. I have been pretty snippy with Tom lately, and usually he calls me out on my BS, which unfortunately makes me flip emotions and sulk. I also cried over a spiral cut ham that was not cut to my liking. Like bent over the sink bawling…Dramatic much? Oh and there was a cheesecake that Tom ate in one sitting, that I didn’t get a piece of that made me shed some ugly tears. Seriously, why did you do that to your pregnant wife!? See emotions run rampant…

Looking forward to: Our baby showers and the weddings we will be attending in the next month. I can’t wait to see family and friends from all over!

Also, Tom and I are excited for our future of this. Undoubtedly with our child, there are some fun times ahead.

IMG_4152

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Bumpdate Week 21

bumpdate 21

How far along: 21 weeks. I cannot believe we are past the half way point. Since we didn’t know the first two months, it seems like it has gone really fast so far.

Sex of Baby W: George is still George.

Weight gain: I am now at a 6 pound loss. Whoo, gained one pound back! In most clothes, you can see the bump now. Although yesterday, I had a student of mine tell me that she just thought I was getting fat over the last few weeks and just realized this week that I was pregnant. While I also thought that about myself, I would never say that to someone. I chalk it up to finals craziness that she would call me fat to my face.

Size of Baby W: He was 9 oz. at our appointment a couple weeks ago. Now he should be about the size of a carrot.

Maternity clothes: I am wearing a lot of dresses, but I am not wearing a lot of maternity clothes. I still haven’t bought any maternity bottoms besides my yoga pants.

Baby items: My sister-in-law brought us a whole bunch of goodies when she was here a couple weeks ago. We still haven’t gotten anything personally recently. We are going to look at a local child consignment store this weekend. Tom will also be making the crib here in the next couple weeks. I am excited to show that process!

2014-05-06 18.42.21

I love every single piece of this. Our nursery colors are gray, blue and orange. There will be a few elephants throughout too. She found just the perfect stuff for George! And yes that is an elephant umbrella at the bottom!

Stretch marks: Nope, but you can see the veins in my belly which is kind of out there to look at.

Belly button in or out: Still in, but it is starting to flatten out.

Sleep: I have been sleeping pretty well, but I still have some wicked dreams, or rather nightmares. Unfortunately, they all seem to be pretty violent. The other night I couldn’t go back to sleep because I was so scared and shaken from it. And of course it was the night that Tom was doing 24 hour staff duty.

Best moment the past few week: Being able to complete a half marathon with Emily and seeing a Tyrone Wells concert with my friend Andrea.

Worst moment the past few weeks: I can’t really think of anything here. The last couple weeks have been pretty good.

Miss anything:  Deli sandwiches.

Cravings:  Meat.

Movement: The past couple days he has been really active. The best way to explain it is like he is blowing bubbles and then popping them. I was also able to feel him with my hand on my belly too which was just crazy cool. He is super still thought when Tom tries to feel him.

Symptoms/how I am feeling: For the most part, I am feeling pretty good. I have had really bad allergies this week which stinks because not pregnant I am on prescriptions. They, however, are not good for baby ninjas, so I have been cold turkey on allergy meds, which stinks a big one. I also have been having period-like cramps really bad in the mornings. My doctor says this is normal because my uterus is stretching. Cramps were one thing I did not know about pregnancy, and they are terrible.

Looking forward to: My birthday weekend.

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And You Shall Be Called

name

Naming a kid is hard y’all.

There are so many things to think of. Some of these were a fleeting thought, and others were reasons why names got crossed off.

  • Do you want a family name? If so how do you explain to the other family that you didn’t go with theirs (if this is even a concern)?
  • Does someone close to you already have this name? And do you want them to have the same name?
  • Does someone in your past have this name? Is that a good or bad thing?
  • Is there a connotation that goes along with this name? (ie stripper names)
  • Could there be bad nicknames associated with this name? (ie Josie Grossie)
  • Do you believe in the meanings behind names?
  • Do you want to be original or more traditional?
  • Are you ok with it being a common name?
  • What about spelling?
  • Will their initials spell something? (I mean seriously do you want your initials to be COW, DUD, or BUT if you had a say?)
  • And above all else, you both need to like it and agree.

We have been keeping a running tab of names that we like for the past couple years. Whenever I heard a name that I liked, I would run it by Tom and then add it to our list on my phone.

To be honest, I have kept a list since I was a little kid. I was totally that girl who envisioned being a mom from pretty much day one. I often got the name books in the Scholastic Book fairs in elementary school. So one can say that I have always been interested in names.

Once we found out we were pregnant we got serious about our list. We narrowed our boy names fairly easy to a couple that we really liked. The girl names were much harder.

We both had our likes but we kept having to restart because we knew someone with the name (student I wasn’t fond of or someone Tom hated) or it just didn’t feel right to one of us. Namely, we had issues with the connotations that go along with some names…

This is so stressful people.

You want to pick a solid name that your child can be proud of. You don’t want them to hate their name. (I went through a phase where I hated my name because it was so common, and wanted to change it to Crystal. Why, I have no idea. Parents, I do love my name now, so thank you.)

The name is the first identifier for someone. So much is revolved around a name such as memories and their experiences. I mean think about it when you say someone’s name a lot more comes to mind than just that one word.

So how do you pick a name that can mean so much to someone before you even meet them?

You just kind of wing it to be honest. (While thinking about all the questions above of course.)

And once you know, you know.

And without further ado, our little guy will be…

george

George is a name that we both have loved for a long time, like before we were pregnant long time. So that part was easy. And neither of us have had bad encounters with a George or has it been stolen by someone close to us (I kid about the stolen part, well only sort of.) Really, we just know famous George’s:  George Washington, George Brett, Prince George…Tom and I actually played a game of “Last Word” with who can beat the other with famous Georges. Just try to see how many you can come up with!

The middle name proved to be a little more interesting of a conversation. (We considered for a time to name him after George Brett-we love our Royals. Also the middle name “America” was discussed…sadly.)

But we finally settled on Lawson.

Lawson is Tom’s middle name. (If we would have had a girl, she would have had my middle name.)

It is so great to call him by his name.

Our little George.

Also George has been dubbed as our ninja baby (thanks to our dear friend Sandra) since he surprised us with his sneaky entrance into the world. The nickname has kind of stuck, and he keeps pulling out little surprises for us. At our appointment last week, we found out that we are actually more than a week further along than we thought. George is growing so steadily and like a champ, and the last two ultra sounds have not been consistent with our previous due date. So we are actually 20 weeks tomorrow, which means we are half way there! Our new due date is September 15th instead of the 25th.

Do you have names picked out already? How would/did you go about picking a name?