2 months to the day!

Today marks the 2 month mark until Baby Besmer's due date. Nothing too exciting is going on around here. The baby moves around quite a bit. I'm starting to wake up halfway through the night to go pee. But then, the baby decided to wake up and start kicking like a bandit! It was amazing how much it moved in the middle of the night! And one thing I've decided I miss the most... being able to pop my back. That is driving me nuts! I can't pretzel my back to pop it. Thankfully, I invested in some prenatal yoga DVDs which help me stretch and will hopefully help with the labor! I'll let you know in 2 months!

Short and chic!

Well, my hair was at the point where it either needed to go or grow! So, my hairdresser and I decided to chop it off! I have to look cute for the NYC trip! The color is hard to see but it's a reddish brown. Then when September rolls around, we'll let it start to grow and darken it to more of a chocolate brown color. I'm sure once the baby comes around, my fun hair days are gone! I'm enjoying it while we can afford it!

31 weeks... 9 to go!

Wow! I can't believe there's only 9 weeks left to go! So I have the mental countdown in my head. 9 weeks (2 months and 2 days) means there's only 4 paychecks to go... that's a bummer! 1 last vacation to New York City. We have to drive because it's not really recommended to fly this late in pregnancy. I'll be almost 33 weeks at that point, which means 2 weeks left until our last vacation!

But then I think of all the things we have left to buy! Oh my! I really hope Babies R Us puts out some really good coupons in the paper soon! If anyone spies any 15% off coupons for Babies R Us, send them my way! Or let me know so I can run to the store and ask for one before I buy all the expensive stuff... a car seat, the pack and play, the stroller... ahhh! Does everyone else stress at all the expenses? It's fun but boy is that a big chunk of money!

Everything is going fine still! Nothing too exciting. My belly button still has not popped out! Kinda weird, but it's just stretched and started looking like a crater! TMI I know. No stretch marks... that I can see anyways. YEAH! I haven't peed on myself in a long time when I sneeze. I did that once, like at 23 weeks. I must have really had to go pee. No real heartburn. Feels like a tingly, numbing sensation under my ribs but it doesn't feel like heartburn. I attribute it to my stomach stretching and pressing down on a nerve. I still take Tums just in case, but mainly it's more for calcium.

As the weeks tick by, I wonder more and more if Baby Besmer is a boy or a girl. And NO we are not going to find out at this point in the pregnancy. There's only 2 months left! I can wait! We won't have another ultrasound anyways. But my doc knows. It looks like everyone is pretty split in the voting. 9 weeks until we find out the sex of the baby!

I can't stop!

Okay, I have been told numerous times to stop buying things, but how can I when I get coupons that are going to expire?! Those Babies R Us coupons that let you take $5 off a $25 purchase. So my intent is to not spend a lot of money, which keeps me under control... that's a good thing. So unlike adult clothing, you can get quite a bit for $25! As you can see, I got some really cute neutral onsies, a pack of 5 onsies, and a pack of 3 sleep outfits with the footies. Makes me kind of wish I knew if I was having a girl or boy... the girl clothes are so cute!

Let the dreams begin

Well, I have had 2 baby dreams over the past week. Unfortunately I can't quite remember what they were right now. One may have been feeding the baby. I also can't recall if there was a specific sex... so no dreams predicting a boy or girl yet.

It wasn't me this time

A cute bath towel and receiving blanket
The blanket up close.

So I came home to discover presents on the doorstep today. Thanks to my Mom we have a couple more new items, a "bath bag" but looks more like a bath towel/blanket type of thing and another receiving blanket. The blanket is really soft and thin. It's it fun! So, it wasn't me buying all the stuff this time! To keep myself under control, I figured every paycheck I can chip away at the things I need. So, really I splurged a little early since payday is tomorrow. So it won't be until another 2 weeks until I make another purchase!

More shopping

The quilted comforter in the plastic still... isn't it cute?!
This is what the bumper looks like!

More fun stuff I picked up at Babies R Us. So, my purpose of the Babies R Us trip was simply to pick up the crib set my Dad bought for me... but Carter's items were still buy 1, get 1 50% off plus I had a $5 off coupon. So you know what that means... I had to use the coupon! So, I scored another crib sheet, the changing pad cover, the changing pad cushion, more receiving blankets and lap pads, and some washcloths. Everything is green and brown... hope that goes well with either a boy or girl! Although, the changing pad cover does have blue... oh no! It's so fun to make these small $30-$60 purchases. I think my eyes will pop out of their sockets when we go to Babies R Us and the bill is over $500!! Maybe I'll break that into a couple of $250 purchases. Ahh... the stress!

Major score!

Woo hoo! I have just scored my crib set! Isn't it cute?! One more thing checked off on the list of "things to buy." Well, you can't really see the picture all that clearly, but when I pick it up from the store, of course I will have to real post pictures!

My Dad bought it for the baby! Thanks Dad!

Score... Target

So, I made a trip to Target for your usual Target shopping trips. I figured while I was there, I might as well as see if there was anything I could get off my registry. I know... I know... that's for other people to buy but how could I resist when I see a red sticker (clearance) item! So I scored these cute little onsies and pants. I was so confused as which size to buy... do I buy newborn or do I buy 0-3 months??!! So, experienced Mom's out there. Let me know! Do I just skip the newborn size all together?? I just don't think I'm going to have a baby that is that small. Newborn only goes up to 8 pounds, so I think I should buy 0-3 months from now on. At least the little baby can wear these for a week or so. Aren't they so cute? So I am definitely slowly but surely increasing my baby inventory.

The Big 3-0!

28 weeks...
30 weeks and counting... Can you tell that I am bigger at all?
30 weeks close-up

No, I'm not turning 30... yet! But I have made it to another milestone during this pregnancy. Today, I hit 30 weeks! The baby is definitely moving more and more everyday. Still nothing new is going on. It's basically a waiting game from here. My belly button still has not popped out as most of you can see in the video. I don't think I have heartburn... but I do have a tingly, numbing sensation under my right chest. I told my doctor but she wasn't so concerned. I think it's just the baby up in my rib cage. No feet swelling yet either. Not sure what else is supposed to occur in the third trimester but it's all going well.

A nice, relaxing Saturday

Today has been such a nice day so far. I slept in until ~9 am. We all know in just a few short weeks, my sleep in days are gone! Matt wakes up at the crack of dawn, which is usually ~6 am even on the weekends! So it's nice to finally sleep in. And we all know Matt is an "on-the-go" type of guy, so today I just sat and watched TV for most of the morning. I finally got up and did something productive. Yesterday I received one of the prenatal yoga DVDs I bought online. So I spent an hour stretching. It wasn't quite a "real" yoga class, but it was good to stretch. I realized how tight I have become once I started the DVD. My plan of today was to simply go to Babies R Us. They are having a sale on their Carter's items, Buy 1 get 1 50% off. Since I had a few Carter's items on my registry, I figured I would start stocking up now. So as you can see, I got a soft fuzzy blanket (which I found that was not even on my registry), some lap pads, receiving blankets, and a crib sheet. I figure if I chip away at all the things I need slowly, it won't seem like I am spending a lot of money all at one time. Although I'm sure that will still happen. I can't believe there's only 10 weeks left (well, 10 weeks and 1 day). Tomorrow, I'll take updated belly pictures!

We have movement!

I'm trying to catch a quick video of the baby movement. Turn off your volume, it's just TV noise in the background. You have to watch closely because it's just little taps for now. Yesterday I saw the baby's arm or leg move across my belly for the first time. I've felt it before but last night I saw it! Now you all can't tell me that doesn't remind you of "The Alien" movie!! So, maybe later tonight the baby will move across my belly and I can catch it!

Yeah I passed!

I passed my glucose tolerance test which means I am not diabetic! Yeah me! Nothing new to report this week. Matt is in San Antonio for the next two weeks for training. So I'll have to take my own belly pictures next week. Keep a look out for those to come on Sunday!

29 weeks and counting

It's basically a waiting and growing game by now. 11 weeks to go! I definitely feel the baby move quite a bit more. I get little jabs up near my ribs and kicks out the side of my flank but nothing that actually hurts. I still feel great! Might not be able to keep up with Matt as much and bending down to pick something up is starting to get difficult but nothing too horrible.

Congratulations to Matt's sister, Laura. She had her son, William, yesterday weighing in at a large 9 pounds, 1 ounce! She opted to keep the sex of the baby a surprise as well so we'll all be just as excited to get a message from us saying... It's a ______! I hope and pray that it will be SEVEN, yes 7 pounds 1 ounce and NOT 9 pounds! No way! You'll have to cut a 9 pound baby out of me!

28 week prenatal visit

Everything checks out fine. I measure at 27, just a little on the small side but close enough. The heart beat was nice and strong at 130s to 140s. My doc had the paper that said the sex of the baby. Oh it was so hard to resist not finding out. Then I had the pleasure of doing the glucose test and drinking the soda. It wasn't half as bad as everyone says it is. It was thick and sweet, but just tasted like orange soda that lost its fizz. Then I had to wait an hour and they attempted to draw my blood. It took them 4 tries, yup 4 times to stick me!!! I don't know what was wrong but I just wouldn't bleed. So I went over to the family medicine side, which finally got my blood! I'm crossing my fingers I don't end up with gestational diabetes because I do not want to follow a strict diabetic diet. I enjoy my ice cream and chocolate a little too much right now! Still no major cravings. But if I want chocolate, I eat chocolate. Life is good!

Home improvements!

Closet room before...
Closet room moved
Family room rearranged. New closet organized is right behind me.
Guest room redone.
Site of new large bookcase.

My desk area moved out of the family room.

I hope we get a lot of visitors soon! We have redone and rearranged our house to make it more livable! We can't wait for family to come and visit.

You Have to Ask People!

Okay, so here are my pregnant hormones coming out. To those of you who just reach out to touch people's pregnant bellies of those you barely know... you have to ask! It's kinda gross and creepy when people you might know but not really all that well, just rub your belly! So next time you see a cute pregnant belly and just can't resist... you just need to ask!

What a day off!

New crib on order!

Old closet room

Newly painted future baby room

Old closet room, new space for the baby crib

Wall stickers for the baby room.

I took today off in hopes of being lazy and recovering from our DC trip. Hah! Matt left at ~6 am, which means I was woken up early. So I hop out of bed at 6:45, yuck! So much for sleeping in! Then I prepare to transfer all the junk out of the soon to be baby room. I get all the stuff out and start prepping to paint. I put the first few strokes on the wall... ick! It's like mud! So, I pack everything up and head out on the town to run a bunch of chores. First up, of course, to Home Depot to exchange the paint from "Pebbled Stone (mud color)" to "Pebble Stone (new color)." Why would you name 2 different colors so close??!! You got me! Then onto Babies R Us to buy a baby shower present for a lady at work. And finally to Target. I came home and got started on the painting. To top things off, as you can tell, our old closet room is transitioned to the baby room which means I lose a lot of closet space. So, I have to pack up 1/2 my clothes into plastic storage bins to put in the garage. Not fun. I will take pictures of the guest bedroom as well as soon as I get it cleaned a little. My clothes that need to be put in plastic bins are folded on the bed spewed with all the hangers. But, the baby room is painted! I also scored some stickers that peal off of Classic Pooh for the baby room! Highlight of the day: I ordered our crib. Downside is that it is backordered until August 15th. Good thing I put the order in early! So, it should be here by ~August 23rd. Hope the baby doesn't decide to come early!

Belly pictures

26 weeks 28 weeks... starting to poke out there!
Close up!

Well, it's official! I am in my third trimester and my belly is growing like a weed... well, so it feels! I can feel the baby way up in my rib area. Sometimes it goes numb or tingly, which I've read means the baby is rubbing up against my rib. I'm sure sooner or later, it will no longer be numb but painful! Fun stuff to come! The baby surely is larger now as I can feel it swimming in there. It is quite a weird feeling. It's like an alien! See... all you folks who made fun of me calling "it" an "alien" but when I can see it moving around in there... reminds me of the movie, "The Alien." Well, hope you enjoy watching me grow bigger and bigger!

Score... Ikea!

The cool kitchen storage space saver Matt picked out at Ikea
A cool chair that was $99 at Ikea. It's actually comfortable too! Plus it slightly rocks back and forth. I think it will come in handy once the baby gets here.
All the tape is done! Our guest bedroom is finally getting put together. This was the one room that looked like we were still in college. We had 3 different bookshelves that were all cheap or old and an old tv. Now it might actually be a nice refuge for our guests who will come soon!
Our baby room in shambles! Basically the current storage place of all our books. It looks like a used book store in there. Hopefully by tomorrow I will have the guest room painted and can get started on the baby room paint tomorrow. I took an extra day off to have a 4 day weekend!

More DC pictures

Matt and I at White House with the Monument in the background.
How cool is this? We found a restaurant that is named Tomate!!

More DC pictures

Some of my favorite flower pictures from the Botanical Gardens
The Folklife Festival with the Monument Background
Some music of the Folklife festival

Oh the best part I forgot to mention... all of this stuff was for FREE! The only thing we paid for was food. It might cost a fortune to live in DC but there is so much to do for free!

DC trip

Union Station hallway
US Supreme Court
Capitol building
Capitol Building view from the front
Some museum we visited

We left for our DC trip at ~8 am on the 4th of July. Surprisingly there was very little traffic. We got into DC at ~10:45. Bonus... we found a parking spot on the street literally across the street from our hotel. Our hotel was a quaint hotel room which reminded me of some of the European hotels we stayed in. Since we arrived so early, we started out on foot. We visited the Union Station, also a reminder of Europe. Then off to the Supreme Court for Matt, of course. Then to the Library of Congress (again Matt). Then we saw the Capitol building. Went into a museum to look around and eat lunch. From there we found the Smithsonian Folklife Festival but I was insistent on going to the Botanical Gardens. So we headed over to the Botanical Gardens were I scored some awesome photos. Then we went to the Folklife Festival. Then we walked all the way to the Monument Building (far walk!). After resting there, it starts to sprinkle so we head on back to check into our hotel where it proceeds to rain harder and harder. We head on out to eat dinner at the Capitol City Brewery. It was still only ~8 pm so we went to the room to rest before the fireworks show. At ~9 pm we head out to a park about 2 blocks away from the hotel. Unfortunately, as we set our blanket down on the grass we hear the fireworks. So we get up and head out in search of a place we can see the fireworks. Unfortunately, we get to the Capitol building but all the trees blocked a good view of the fireworks. So we missed a good firework show. Instead we saw a few fireworks through the branches of trees. Bummer. Saturday morning we drive to the White House. It's pouring down rain so that limited our ability to go on more walking tours. Bummer! (Yeah right, by this time I was saying no more walking!) So, did you know the White House is literally like across the street from the Monument. You mean, we walked all the way down to the Monument!! From the White House, we head out on a car tour of the city, end up lost, and fortunately end up at an Ikea... the one in Maryland! Yeah, we drove so far lost we ended up in Maryland!

Quick Update

We went to Washington DC for a quick overnight trip. One of our last getaways before Baby Besmer comes along and gone are the days of fun overnight trips. We also got a chance to go to Ikea. Matt had grand epiphanies to rearrange our entire house (well, almost) to make it more "liveable." Worse part of it was that they didn't have the crib I wanted. It would have been perfect. It was much lower set than most common types of cribs, so it would be really easy for me to lean in and set the baby down. Good news is that we did get to purchase the dresser. It will double as a changing table by just placing a changing pad on top of it. Finish off the room with the glider I want from Target, and the baby room is fully furnished! So next on the list is to go back to Babies R Us to find a white crib and to Home Depot to find a color to paint.

Here is a picture of the dresser from Ikea. I'll take pictures of the "real" one once Matt gets it put together. I suspect that will be in a few weeks since he is going to do all the other rearranging projects to the rest of the house. In the meantime, I can paint the guest bedroom and the baby room.

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the growing baby bump and pictures of DC. Boy did the baby bump shoot out there the past 2 weeks!

Okay... I bought something!

Well, let me tell you how my day was finishing up. I was driving home on my alternative route across a bridge before the 2nd tunnel and I see this car ~2-3 cars ahead of me swerve across the slow lane and slam into the side of the bridge. As I'm driving past him, I see that he is having a seizure (tonic-clonic to my seizure friends out there)! So of course, I have to stop and see if he is okay. On my way to the car, I dial 911. When I get to him, he's in a tonic clonic seizure (oh tonic clonic means shaking all over, the typical ones they show on tv) for ~1 minute and then starts stiffening his arms, myoclonic seizures, then goes post-ictal (non-responsive after a seizures) for ~2-3 minutes. He starts coming around ~5 minutes after the seizure but is barely able to give me his name. Eventually, he is able to give us his whole name and birthday but not able to tell us the current year, day, date, name of president, etc. After a few minutes, the ambulance and police come and relieve us of our duties as good Samaritans. What surprised me is that they didn't ask us for any information. They just said, thanks for helping and sent us on our way. Don't you think they would need to know what happened prior to when they got there and what precipitated the 911 call? Oh well.

So which leads me to my purchase! So since I'm feeling all excited about my good deed, I might as well as purchase my first baby item. Well, in truth I have purchased a lot of books, What to Expect While You are Expecting, The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy (a must read for first timers), of course a couple of Baby Name books, Best Baby Products, Baby Bargains book, and Baby Wise. So, I have purchased my official first baby product, a new diaper bag! I'm going to leave the bags I have registered for unless I truly LOVE the new bag that should be on it's way. It got really good reviews from the ebags.com website. So here it is... my first baby purchase! Isn't it exciting?!

Something new for the baby!

The Nestle representative sends us cool new stuff all the time, so I snagged my share! It's a cool diaper bag, I'm guessing for Matt since it's a backpack AND I really want the ones I registered for at Target and Babies R Us. Inside also came with a cool towel hoodie, a cute book, "Guess How Much I Love You," and some free sample items including some formula. Hopefully everything goes well and I won't have to use it though! I'm hoping to get my use out of the cool new breast pump!