Sunshine, Rainbows and Bananas: June 2012

June 29, 2012

21w5d: Pomegranate

Couldn't find a pomegranate at the Florida supermarket...but I'm wearing the right color at least!

How far along? 21 weeks, 5 days

Maternity clothes: This week at the beach it was strictly swim suits and sundresses. :) Wish I could do that all the time!

Stretch marks: Some on my chest a little bit...but fingers crossed nothing gets worse.

Sleep: On and off, and not very good. It's hard enough to slepe pregnant, but worse to not be in my comfy bed. And I developed a cold while at the beach that made it hurt so bad to swallow at night, and stuffed me up!

Best moment this week: Being surrounded by family and sunshine!! The gender reveal with family!! And the most precious thing was watching my family's faces light up when I would call them over to feel baby kick. It was so neat to watch him kick to their voice.

Miss Anything: Not getting swollen from the heat and walking a little bit.

Movement: VERY much so. He is an active little one, and so far, very predictable. I know the times that he is awake, and it is the neatest thing to watch my belly move. The last night of vacation, Daniel and I were trying to fall asleep in the hotel, I was spooning him and the little stinker kept kicking his daddy in the back!! haha We were cracking up...Daniel kept saying, "our baby is literally kicking my ass!!"

Symptoms: Swelling; nightly leg cramps like charlie horses (sooooo not fun!); hunger all the time; a few headaches; but overall increased energy from previous weeks.

Food cravings: Basically anything in sight.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Same as usual.

Have you started to show yet: No hiding it!

Gender: BOY!!

Labor Signs: No, but some pretty scary pains on Saturday night that were not fun down under...even had Daniel scared (but it was enough of an excuse to get a backrub! haha)

Belly Button in or out?: Creeping outwards...and getting wide for some reason. Emily laughed when she touched it because hers was exactly the same way!

Wedding rigns on or off: On still...but when I'm not wearing them, you can now see an indent where they were...YIKES!
General Mood: Very happy to be with family! Pretty sure that rubbed off on baby G because he was so active and kicking like crazy all week!
Best advice this week: All of the advice from family at the beach. Mom and Aunt Kathy laugh at how different things are these days compared to when they had babies...so it was nice and refreshing to hear what they went through.
Worst advice this week: None.
Exercise: Hoping this counts...it was vacation afterall so the routine was, wake-up, walk to the beach, suntan, walk back up to the condo for dinner. haha
Looking forward to: Having friends in town next week for fourth of July; Getting dates figured out for the baby shower at home; and working on all things baby with Daniel at the house!

June 24, 2012

GENDER REVEAL: It's a....

We got to the beach today in the middle of tropical storm Debby (that bi*ch). The BIG REVEAL we had planned involved using the beach, beautiful sunset for pictures, and of course, the sand. Well....that wasn't happening. For anyone that knows Destin, Florida....this is not what we usually see looking out into the blue.

Change of plans. The family already had cabin fever from the morning and was in no mood to wait for the news. They needed a pick-me-up for a rainy vacation....and expected us to deliver....IMMEDIATELY!

But first, mom gave us a gender neutral gift that melted my heart. A sweet little monkey plush toy, and a book "Twinkle Twinkle" that featured everyone in the family reading a different page. Bring on the tears!!!!

Daniel is in disbelief that a book can be read by voices....technology these days, I tell ya!

We decided to change the plans and got our props out for everyone to guess. Some grabbed a mustach right away, while others waivered their decisions for a second. And then there is my nephew Waylon who guessed both....just because he liked to chew the foam props.

Here are the other gender predictions:

We checked out their predictions, counting boy verse girl.

We laughed, because it seemed that all couples were a split decision, except for one.....my parents.

And drumroll please......we are having a sweet little bouncy baby:

BOY!!!

(and obviously...my husband couldn't be more proud as evidenced in the picture!)

And, in perfect style...my mom had a gift bag for a boy waiting in the wings...because in her words

"she just knew"

We'll make an "edit" to the post about the 20 week appointment/ultrasound since there were details we couldn't include until this special day of telling our family. We were so thrilled to be able to tell part of our family in person, and feel the love for this little boy already. <3

June 22, 2012

20w4d: BANANA

** No time to take a picture this week with a banana thanks to softball and work schedules **

How far along? 20 weeks, 4 days

Maternity clothes: Oh geez has this been a struggle this week. Trying on bathing suits (ones I own, and others Mom sent me to try) was funny to say the least. I'm going to have to do some shopping before we leave for the beach Sunday!

Stretch marks: Seeing hints of some on my chest, but praying they don't come out!

Sleep: Pretty good this week, with moments of uncomfortable mixed in.

Best moment this week: Getting packed up and ready to go to Florida to be with the family. Otherwise a pretty uneventful week...unless you count laughing until my stomach hurt when trying on and modeling all of the swim suits in my closet while Daniel just laughed at me for my belly sticking out!!

Miss Anything: Packing normal clothes for the beach!

Movement: A little less than last week, but still some.

Symptoms: Hair...everywhere.

Food cravings: Mainly protein.

Anything making you queasy or sick: The usual.

Have you started to show yet: Oh yes!

Gender: That's for us to know, and you to find out!

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out?: Creeping outwards, but proud to report it is still an "innie!"
Wedding rigns on or off: On...getting tighter! YIKES!
General Mood: Good.
Best advice this week: To drink lots of water at the beach!
Exercise: Some walks, and cleaning the house like crazy getting ready for vacation.
Looking forward to: Vacation, obviously! Telling everyone the gender!!

June 21, 2012

A New Twist: Thirsty Thursday

This morning I woke up to a surprise from my wonderful husband. He left a starbucks giftcard on my night stand!! I was so pumped, I couldn't wait for "Fatty Friday"...and went today instead. My barista is soooooo sweet and made me a second drink for FREE, using the excuse that the first one wasn't made with enough love and was probably too runny....so baby gets one too. :) Two decaf caramel frapps this morning!! WOW sugar! No farmer's market necessary today. PERFECT start to my day with a smile.

June 16, 2012

19w5d: A Mango!

How far along? 19 weeks 5 days

Maternity clothes: The same, a few here and there. Since it's been warm, I've been wearing some long skirts that really show off the bump!

Stretch marks: Nothing yet, but I close my eyes when I think I might see one in the chest area...I'm convincing myself that it's nothing. :) Must stay hydrated!

Sleep: Pretty good this week. Fell asleep on the couch a few nights, sitting up!!
Best moment this week: Finding out what we are having!!!!! It was a wonderful appointment and ultrasound. So heartwarming to see the little one growing strong! It's been hilarious to keep it from people until we can see family at the beach soon. Curiousity gets the best of people!!

Miss Anything: Cute summer clothes; wine; and the ability to not drop everything all the time...I swear I have never been so clumsy in my life!

Movement: Baby is VERY active! He/she (like that?) has even kicked a cat off my lap a few times this week...startled the heck out of Duke at one point. Everytime I scream for Daniel to come feel, he runs and the baby stops. Stubborn!? haha I really hope my family can feel some of the movement when we are at the beach.

Symptoms: HOT FLASHES! And I'm normally a very cold person...I wear sweaters all summer because my office is an ice box. These days, I can't get it to be cold enough! When I get hot...it last for about twenty minutes and there is nothing that helps!

Food cravings: BBQ; meat of any kind...but particularly steak!; chocolate pudding (random, I know); ice cream; cold melon; corn on the cob

Anything making you queasy or sick: The usual

Have you started to show yet: Oh yes. Embracing the bump with some fun shirts and loving people checking it out asking me preggo questions. Luckily, I haven't had any stranger belly rubs yet...but I'm sure they will come.

Gender: It's a..... you didn't think I was actually going to post it, did you!?! We are so excited to know, and can't wait to share soon!!

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out?: Still in!

Wedding rigns on or off: Still on, but I'm not sleeping in them anymore just to be safe.

General Mood: Happy and somewhat nostalgic.

Best advice this week: To take not only lists when registering for baby, but listen to new mom's advice on what was really helpful to get.

Worst advice this week: Not really bad advice, just conflicting views. My doctor told me to pack coconut water packets for the beach next week to stay extra hydrated in the heat. Then this morning, NPR published an article about how the coconut water hydration is just a phase, and not legit. What to believe now?!

Exercise: Walking, stretching, and nesting (yes, I'm counting this as an exercise because after cleaning the whole house top to bottom...my body was SORE beyond belief!)

Looking forward to: The BIG gender reveal for family next weekend at the beach; vacation in general; Daniel being off school for the summer so he can start tackling the ever-growing hunny do list for the baby and house.

June 15, 2012

Sweet Baby Kicks

Happy Friday everyone! I have the 19 week post almost ready (can't believe I will be 20 weeks on Sunday!!!)...just waiting on the picture to be taken by my fabulous photographer. But, in the meantime, I just wanted to write down what I've been experiencing this week, particularly today....I want to be able to some day look back at this blog and smile at the fun things that happened along this journey.

Almost every day this week, baby G has been kicking me constantly. I can start to distinguish the schedule he/she is on, and I've learned to stop what I am doing when I know I will be feeling things going on in there. Today at work, I walked to lunch and got a chocolate milkshake for "fatty Friday!". Apparently, baby LOVES it as much as I did...because this would normally be the time he/she is sleeping soundly while I get work done and check my e-mail. NOT today! My stomach is kicking like a firework show on the fourth of July. I can see it through the maternity band of my jeans. It's probably a good thing I am alone in the office right now because I just keep talking to my sweet little baby, laughing when the kicks react, and crying because my heart is just melting and overjoyed.

This experience has been so much fun so far....even with the ups and downs that are pregnancy. But it's days like this that make me realize this is bigger than anything I could have ever imagined. That God truly does work in the most magnificent ways. And that life is so precious.

June 12, 2012

20 week ultrasound!

We went yesterday for our 20 week ultrasound, gender reveal and check-up. We didn't tell anyone of our appointment time so we could just keep our phones and facebook walls quiet from curiosity....especially because if we were lucky enough to find out, we are going to keep it a secret until we go to the beach with the Dolinski/Gonya clan in two weeks.

We were lucky. Baby G revealed the sex and was super adorable in the ultrasound video/pictures. Baby was sleeping soundly though, and being quite modest for the first part...despite the sugar I ate on the way to the appointment (in reality, little G was probably having a sugar CRASH! haha). It was the most beautiful experience to see our little wonder sucking the fluid and moving it's arms/legs around trying to get comfortable. The tech was able to get a full anatomy scan, but wants us to come back in three weeks to get better pictures of the brain since the head was allllll the way down under. Good news....we will have even more/better pictures of baby G, which we will be able to share at that point with everyone!

I checked out healthy as well. Good fluid levels, good placenta position and very healthy weight gain so far. The baby is likely going to be BIG...already weighing in the 67th percentile at 10oz (generally, babies weigh 7oz at 19 weeks). It was also NO surprise that baby's head was measuring two weeks ahead in size. Guess my genes are running strong in that department! Heartbeat was 150bpm this time. I had nightmares Sunday that kept waking me up with fears that our baby had three arms, a two chamber heart instead of four, and veins coming out of the brain (funny...but not so much at 3a.m. waking up in a cold sweat!). Luckily, we can report that our baby is growing perfectly!! We cannot wait to see better pictures in a few weeks! We were so blessed to have such a healthy growing baby...and to find out the gender! :)

Even people that did know about our appointment (our parents, co-workers and a few other family members/friends) have to wait for the big reveal. We have the coolest gender reveal planned for the first night we are at the beach with my family...complete with props, pictures and I'm sure mass chaos. Stay tuned!

So what will it be? Wait until Sunday, June 24th to see!
We would LOVE to hear your guesses and predicions on here or on our facebook pages!

Mom got us these bibs...both genders, just in case. :)

June 9, 2012

18w5d: Sweet Potato

How far along? 18 weeks 5 days
Maternity clothes: Wore some more this week than I have in weeks past. I'm still wearing the belly band, but finding clothes for work is getting more difficult than for the weekends. I wish I could live in leggings...that would make life a lot easier.
Stretch marks: Nothing yet. Trying to keep my skin hydrated in this heat!
Sleep: On and off, depending on the night. So happy to only be getting up once or twice now in the middle of the night.
Best moment this week: Weighing myself to find I've only gained 4.5 pounds so far! Alexandra having her sweet little Gabriella Rose make her debut to the world.
Miss Anything: After the week I had...this couldn't hold any more true....WINE!
Movement: I wish I could say there was more, but same as last week. Just a fluttering/puttering gun inside me every now and then, and not every day.
Symptoms: Getting tired after doing ANYTHING. Literally...showering, exhausting; shopping, exhausting; cooking dinner, exhausting! I'm blaming the busy work week and hoping this doesn't last.
Food cravings: ha! Don't go to the grocery store if you are a.) hungry b.) pregnant in the second trimester, or c.) all of the above. I may have gone a little crazy, while Daniel just rolled his eyes at everything that magically "appeared" in the cart! Got some neopolitan ice cream...I don't think I've had that since I was little hanging out with my papa Dale. It was delicious!
Anything making you queasy or sick: The usual. Orange juice has been so tasty lately, but gives me the worst heartburn.
Have you started to show yet: Yes. Some people that only see the pictures on the blog think that I'm HUGE, but it's really not the case. Usually we take pictures at the end of the week, after a full meal/before bedtime. In the mornings, you can only tell a little bit that a bump is out. This was the first week that strangers or people I don't see everyday (my favorite post office worker, for example) said, "ok, when are you due? I've been wanting to ask, but you can never be sure if it's appropriate, or you just ate too much!"
Gender: One more week!!! But we are keeping it secret until we go to the beach with the Dolinski/Gonya clan and can tell my family in person. So just hold tight!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out?: Still in!
Wedding rigns on or off: On, thank goodness. I can't sleep in them anymore, which is terrible...but I don't want to take the chance of these sausages trapping that beautiful ring! haha Some of my cocktail rings have been retired for the remainder as well. So sad!
General Mood: Exhausted. Anxious (not in the good way...more like worrying about everything in life for no good reason). Sensitive.
Best advice this week: To take this trimester for what it is and utilize the energy with exercise and activities with Daniel.
Worst advice this week: From my husband...not really advice, just a suggestion. He thinks I should work my tail off now while I have the energy (as if I'm not already!!) to gain comp time for maternity leave since I won't get paid for any time that I need to take off.
Exercise: Lots of nature walks with Daniel...great for baby, bad for my allergies! Some tennis and light weights as well. Need to get my butt out of bed earlier to do my yoga!!
Looking forward to: Finding out the sex of the babe very soon; vacation with the family; making the playlist for labor/delivery with the help of family/friends (eh um...that means you Danny G!); hearing everyone's predictions if it will be boy or girl!

June 3, 2012

17w6d: Onion

(a little blurry because my photographer just got home from the gym and was jittery)

How far along? 17 weeks 6 days (nothing like waiting for the last day to take the picture!)

Maternity clothes: Still mixing in a few shirts here and there. Clothes are getting harder and harder to make work without getting frustrated because I'm so in-between maternity and regular clothes. But I'm sure it won't be long!

Stretch marks: Nothing yet.

Sleep: Has been touch and go. Some nights I'm so tired I crash on the couch at 8:00, other nights I can stay up until 1:00 a.m. watching a movie or talking with Daniel. It's crazy!

Best moment this week: Was from Saturday actually, we danced at Brett and Courtney's wedding, and while slow dancing our little one kicked us in between. It was amazing! And finding out from Brandon & Michelle that they are having a baby GIRL!!

Miss Anything: Shopping for "normal" clothes. We walked through the mall this weekend and so many of my favorite stores are having their ADORABLE summer clothing sales! *sigh* There's always next summer, right?! :)

Movement: Can't wait for more!!! Right now it's day by day...some are much busier in there than others. When baby moves though, or kicks my hand away from my belly, Daniel and I both melt.

Symptoms: Sleepy. Hot flashes (which are very hard for me to get used to because I'm ALWAYS cold, especially at work!). Lower back pain (probably brought this on myself because I was cleaning the house like a mad woman, before we went to the mall to walk around for hours...reminder, this body cannot do those things anymore without some rest in between!)

Food cravings: Steak, salad, and fruit.

Anything making you queasy or sick: The usual.

Have you started to show yet: Yes! My mom even said that she can't believe how much I've popped. I have a feeling people that don't see me everyday will continue to ask me if there are TWO babies in there. haha :)

Gender: Can't wait to find out very soon! It's especially funny now to hear everyone's predictions since Brandon & Michelle found out they are having a girl. We will have to wait and see!

Labor Signs: Nada.

Belly Button in or out?: Still in!

Wedding rigns on or off: On!

General Mood: Good. Generally happy, with moments of hormonal"ness". haha

Best advice this week: To rest and take it easy.

Worst advice this week: Didn't receive any crazy advice this week like in past ones. I was ready for it though, because it always cracks me up!

Exercise: Walking, walking, walking. I need to do more stretching and yoga to help with this new found back pain.

Looking forward to: Finding out the sex very soon; vacation with the family; Alexandra to deliver, and to meet her baby G; and for Daniel to be done with school for the year so he can start projects around the house to prepare for baby!

June 1, 2012

A present: REDS tee!

Our sweet friends sent us our baby's first Red's tee! It's such a neat feeling to know we are surrounded by WONDERFUL people that already love on our little one. Pete, Lindsay and baby Tessa are an amazing family that we honestly look up to in every way. We are so excited for their wedding this summer!!!! I'm sure they are already sick of our silly questions about all things baby. :) Check out the awesome shirt they got Baby G!

Sunshine, Rainbows and Bananas