He's Here!

I suck because I haven't posted but.....Oliver is here! He arrived October 14th at 656 AM after a mere 11 hours of labor, one epidural, and 25 minutes of pushing. He is perfect and sweet and everything we have ever dreamed of. I couldn't love him more!

Here are some of the newborn pictures we took about 10 days after he was born.

Unfortunately, maternity leave is flying by and my little guy will be 4 weeks old tomorrow. I have 4 weeks of maternity leave left :( I know I have to go back to work eventually, and I do dread it, but I am trying to stay positive and thankful that this little miracle is even here at all.  I'm truly grateful for every second that I have with him.

Baby Shower and 31 weeks

Sorry for the delay...again! If anyone is even reading this anymore :) I am currently 31+2 weeks pregnant. I'm doing well, but getting big and definitely slowing down a bit. I start my midwifery clinical     rotation tomorrow and have to complete 8 hours a week until the first week of December.  This will be in addition to my 40 hour work week and on top of my 6 other credits for my masters program. An 8 credit graduate load is the most I have ever taken at one time.  I'm nervous but I'm trying to get as much done as possible before my little man gets here.  I just want to enjoy him as much as possible so I'm going to push myself to get most of the hours done before he gets here at the end of October or early November. So basically this week will begin the suckiness.  But I can get through it.

I had my baby shower yesterday and it was lovely! My wonderful friend Naomi hosted at her house and put together a beautiful party. My sister-in-law Sondra was down from RI house hunting for their upcoming move, so she helped out as well. It was a great time, and I received so many wonderful gifts from my friends at work. I couldn't help but wish that my mom had made it out here for my shower, or any of my family for that matter. I know I am the one that moved away but I am a little hurt that no one showed up or invited me home for a family party to celebrate this baby that we have been waiting for forever.  It was an extra knife in my back that my mom made the trek to chicago for my cousins baby shower (she struggled to get pregnant as well and is due a month after me).  My mom is retired, I offered to pay for her plane ticket to come and she declined saying it was too much. It just makes me feel unsupported by her.  She says she is coming for the birth, but I'm not going to hold my breath.  I guess I just thought that it would be easier being back in the states but I still feel kind of alone. I'm so thankful for Naomi. She is always there for me and I'm really glad that I can be there for her while her husband is away on deployment.

In other news, the baby's room is still not completed. I had a slight panic attack when I stood in the room and saw all the gifts and baby things.  It freaks me out a little to realize that this baby will be here in less that 10 weeks! But I think the anxiety is normal and I'm dealing with things one day at a time. We also got away for a babymoon to Cape Cod. We had a blast, I'll leave you with a few pictures.

23 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: +11 pounds. Yikes! I still feel like that isn't too bad, right? I gained the 6 back that I lost plus another 11 so far. Hopefully it doesn't stay at this alarming rate but my belly is getting BIG. And honestly I love it :)
Symptoms:
Maternity Clothes:  I haven't even bothered with regular clothes. The maternity ones are so comfortable and I've been waiting almost 5 years to wear them, why not indulge right?
Sleep: Sleeping okay, but having a lot of leg cramps in the evenings which gives me restless legs.  I am still pretty exhausted so I'm ready for bed early these days. I start night shifts on Monday, it's gonna be rough but I do like working nights better.
What I'm Eating: I'm still pretty hungry most days but can't eat as much as usual at each setting. I can't even finish a whole sandwhich or burger! But I'm always hungy about an hour and a half later. I've been tearing up some fruit because everything is so fresh these days. I love summer! 
What do I miss: I still long for a glass of white wine or a cold beer....and sleeping on my stomach :) But I can live without these.
What am I excited for: I received all my quilting fabric and my new sewing machine so I'm pretty excited to get cracking on the little guy's room. I found some weiner dog fabric and I'm pretty darn excited about it :)
Movement: I'm feeling my little man moving all over the place these days. If I'm laying on my back I can even see my belly move! He is especially active in the early mornings, he even wakes me up sometimes. I love feeling him rolling around and being rambunctious.

Things have been moving right along over here. We registered on Thursday which made the whole thing a 100x more real and even a little scary. I'm getting nervous about if he gets sick or when I'll have to leave him the first time. But I'm also excited and so grateful to get this opportunity. I know I will try my best to be a good mom to my little guy.

We finally decided on a name too! It'll be....Oliver Anthony.  We both loved the name Oliver and Anthony is after my dad who passed away 10 years ago.  I feel really good about it, and am glad we can call him Ollie instead of "the kid" or "the baby".
Some Belly Pictures:

20 Weeks

23 Weeks with Satchelpants

23 Weeks

Trucking Right Along...

This pregnancy is starting to fly by! I'm 20+4 today and feeling this little guy quite frequently. I felt something about a week and a half ago but I wasn't sure. Now he's moving all over,flipping and even kicking so hard that it made me belly move a couple of times. Sam can't feel anything yet even though we've tried a few times to catch it.  I'm gaining weight and am officially up 5 lbs :( I know it's normal and fine to gain weight but it freaks me out to see that number creeping up now....but I can handle it.My belly is definitely getting bigger and I am in all maternity clothes. I love wearing maternity clothes, I may never go back to normal jeans. Stretchy waists is the way to go :)
 I am enjoying my break from school and starting to nest. I have narrowed down my selections for fabric choices for this little guy's quilt and we picked out some paint colors. I still haven't started the registry but hopefully soon. Here are a few belly pictures (I can't figure out how to get them to flip) :

19 weeks

16 weeks

And Suddenly I'm out numbered !!!!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!  And I kind of had an inkling :) I just had a strange nagging feeling that it was a little dude in there. I am mourning the loss of the idea of a little girl (I named her Penelope) but I am stoked to think of the little man that will be here in a few short months. I am 19 weeks today and feeling good. My little belly is poking out a bit and now that I know what we are having we can start shopping! Watch out people this girl has got money to burn!

We got some great pictures during the ultrasound. He wasn't moving much though. I guess my uterus is tilted causing him to slide down and stay laying at the bottom by my bladder and cervix. No wonder I still have to pee every five minutes. He put his business on display for us and Sam was so excited. I know he really wanted a boy so it was great to make his dream come true.  Especially since he already made mine a reality just by creating this little man.

Here are some pictures:

Isn't he just the cutest?! We still haven't decided on a name yet but we have three that we like: Oliver, Benjamin, and Archer. Any suggestions or ideas would be helpful!

I'm baaaack......

Size of baby:

Total Weight Gain: -1 # I still haven't reached my pre-pregnancy weight....which is okay with me :) I know my belly is growing and I am measuring right on track. I lost about 6# during the first trimester and I gained back 5# so I'm almost there. Hopefully I'll only gain about 15-20# during the second half of this pregnancy.
Symptoms: Stuffy nose.  No more nausea though, feeling much better these days. I have moved up one cup size in the last 3 months which is crazy. My boobs hurt so bad that I can't even sleep on my stomach.
Maternity Clothes: I'm officially in all maternity pants and shorts.  I can wear a few of my old shirts and dresses but they are getting a little snug and shorter.
Sleep: I miss sleeping on my stomach. I've been using my knee as a kickstand to keep pressure off of my belly and my boobs. I'm sleeping okay but I have to figure something out quick because I am a devoted stomach sleeper.
What I'm Eating:  Anything salty. Chips, fries, pickles, olives, balsamic vinegar on everything :) I'll still eat sweets but I'm not as interested as I normally am.
What do I miss: I'll be honest...I miss beer. And wine. but that's it :)
What am I excited for: Tuesday morning we find out what we are having and I literally CANNOT WAIT!!!! It makes everything so much more real to me.  I can't wait to start working on the room and finalize the name.  And just seeing the little peanut makes me so excited. I'm thinking boy for some reason, but really who knows!
Movement: No movement yet, I'm waiting for it any day now :)

I've been such a bad blogger since I've been home. School has been crazy and work has really taken up a lot of my time. School ends for me next week and have taken the whole summer off to get ready for this baby. With no school work to do, I can just work and focus on enjoying summer and completing projects for the house and the baby. Being home has been lovely and I am enjoying every second. Belly pictures and house pictures to come.

Happy Memorial Day. Thank you to all of those who have served and those who have lost their lives in service. You are gone but never forgotten.

I'm Home!!!

My little pup Satchel and I made our trek across the ocean one last time on Thursday night. It was a long flight and seeing Sam for the first time with this little baby in my belly was pretty amazing. He has taken care of everything! He bought me a car, got it registered, insured, and had it waiting for me with balloons on top of it! He got me a phone # and a new iphone. He painted almost the entire downstairs of the house. I was amazed. It feels weird to be home but so good too. Our house is still pretty empty but it's just nice to have a real place to call our own.

I am feeling much better finally. My nausea is only coming in the afternoons and evenings now from about 2pm-7pm. I wake up feeling pretty great everyday. My little belly is getting a little bigger and my clothes are getting slightly uncomfortable. I'm in the weird phase where you just look fat not pregnant :) I'll take it though. We told Sam's mom and sister yesterday, it was the first people we were able to tell together and it was fun! I loved watching their reactions. They were like how did this happen? They were a little peeved that I'm already 12 weeks and hadn't told them yet, but I think they understood. I still haven't told my own mother yet. I'm waiting to tell her in person. I cannot wait!

Well that's all for now....pictures to come of the house in progress and the new wheels!