Week 24 - Starting the Nursery

 

Baby Charlotte is the size of an eggplant this week and my uterus is now the size of a soccer ball (according to my What to Expect App on my phone).  My belly area is feeling very stretched.

 

We started on the nursery over the weekend.  We picked out paint colors and got after it on Saturday and finished up on Sunday:

 

Before:

 

First Color:

Second Color:

The bottom color is called "Cement Gray" and the top color is called "Chinchilla".  We will be painting and installing a white chair rail between the colors later this week.  We have decided to leave the closet doors off and will be installing a custom closet organizer and doing either a curtain rod with some sort of curtains in place of doors or just leaving it wide open.  The furniture arrives on Friday and the new carpet gets installed on August 5th!  The nursery will be all wrapped up before we know it!  I can't wait to see it all finished!



 





Week 23 - Moving and Shaking!

 

Baby Charlotte is the size of an ear of corn this week!  She is in full swing of moving around in my belly and I can even see her through my shirt sometimes...it is really awesome!  Dave has finally been able to feel her moving...she seems to move most when I am laying on my back before bed! 

 

I have still been running...on Saturday I ran my first mile in 10:14...not shabby!

 

We had a slight scare over the past couple of weeks.  When I went in for my 20 week ultrasound the ultrasound tech couldn't get a good shot of the neck area so I scheduled another ultrasound for the very next week. When I went in at 21 weeks there was something showing up in the neck/throat area that looked slightly dilated and the doctor referred me to a high risk doctor to get another opinion.  She told me to not freak out that she didn't think it was anything to worry about; however, when you are sent to a high risk doctor your mind starts to wander a little bit.  We met with that doctor this past Friday and were there for 2 hours.  They performed a very in depth ultrasound and were really able to zoom in on the neck/throat area.  We were even able to see Charlotte swallowing (super cool)!  The doctor could not find any sign of anything being dilated or any other problems.  So needless to say we were relieved!  On Friday Baby Charlotte weighed 1.6 pounds and that ultrasound tech said we have a chucky baby already as her belly was measuring into week 24...guess I should start backing off the McDonalds!  So we have had three ultrasounds in the past three weeks...we got to see and get some really good pictures of her if nothing else!

We also got all of the furniture ordered for the nursery which will be in in two weeks!  The picture below is the set we got only it will be in white and the back of the crib will have a panel instead of all slats!  We are excited to have one more thing checked off our list of things to do!




Week 22 - Baby Bedding

 

Week 22 - Baby Bedding

 

Baby Charlotte is the size of a Papaya this week!  Over the next four weeks she is going to double in size...meaning my belly will be growing more rapidly too!  I am already having a hard time bending over from the seated position and getting in and out of cars is proving to be not so fun.  I put on a pair of strappy wedges last week and almost had to hold my breath to buckle the straps...are you kidding me!!  I know I have a long way to go but this is going to get ridiculous I have a feeling!  My heartburn is in full overdrive and I have found the less crappy carbs I eat the better.  Animal Crackers are not my friend!!

 

We finally made the decision on baby bedding and the colors for Charlotte's nursery!  What an overwhelming experience...too many choices, colors and patterns!  I had a slight panic attack last weekend about all of it, but I am really happy with what we have chosen.  I spent many hours looking for the perfect idea / pattern that was not pink.  So we are going with purple/lavender and gray!  This is the crib sheet that I found from Pottery Barn (which they don't even carry in the store so we had to order it online).  I am absolutely in love with everything about the pattern and colors!  I am really looking forward to getting the whole room started!  Dave and I are ripping out old carpeting tonight to get ready for fresh paint and new carpet!

 

We are officially registered at Pottery Barn and Baby's R Us so far.  Pretty sure Target will be added as well.

Week 21 - IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

 

We now know that Charlotte Fay will be joining our family in November and we couldn't be happier!  The ultrasound experience was really great!  You can definitely see in this picture that it is a girl and not a boy...the three lines are girl parts for sure!  Here are some more pictures...the little foot where you can see the toe is my absolute favorite!  It is so hard to believe that three short months ago the ultrasound just was a little blob of white and now everything is formed and looks like a for real baby!

For this week, Charlotte is weighing in at one pound and is the size of a Pomegranate!

 



  

I found a really neat idea to reveal the gender to both of our families.  Our ultrasound was on Thursday, June 20th and we got both families together for dinner at Granite City Brewery (one of our favorites).  I had made cupcakes the night before...one set had blue icing in the middle and one set had pink icing.  After our ultrasound I loaded all the pink cupcakes up for the reveal before dinner!

 

 

 Everyone bit into their cupcakes at the same time and this picture is priceless with the reaction to a girl!  Allison couldn't be any more happy and my dad looks like he just won the lottery!

 



 

It was a really different way to tell everybody and was such a fun night all around!



Week 20 - HALFWAY THERE!!!

 

LBN is the size of a banana this week!  (Think length not width)  We are finally out of the teens and halfway to our November due date!  I am feeling lots of movement these days/nights.  There are either ballet moves or soccer moves going on in there!  All of the pregnancy websites say that my uterus has reached level with my belly button...and boy am I feeling bigger by the day these last two weeks or so.

 

Two more days until we have our ultrasound to find out if we are having a little girl or a little boy!  I am 95% sure it is a boy...just a feeling I've had from the beginning.  So after Thursday LBN will either be Charlotte or Harrison.





Week 19 - Belly Time

 

I feel like my belly grew double in size this week from last week.  Along with that I have had some cramping and I can really feel the pulling and stretching.  LBN is the size of a small cantaloupe this week.  I have decided to start holding the designated fruit for the week so we all can compare the fruit to the belly. 

 

Also, in better news I FINALLY FEEL LBN moving around!!  It started as a little flutter which I thought could just be gas but I really think it was something more.  I also felt a really firm something after Dave's soccer game this week waiting in the car at the gas station.  This is all starting to become more real and exciting. 



Week 18 - Tornado

 

 

 

This week we had a tornado come through our neighborhood.  We were fortunate and only lost a couple of tree branches.  We all took shelter in the basement and could hear the pressure change by our ears popping.  We were without power for 4 hours and our phones were all messed up.  Without internet, TV or the ability to call or text anyone really is quite annoying and we really didn't know the extent of what had happened until the next day.  Crazy night.

 

LBN is the size of a large mango this week.  Only two more weeks until we find out the gender.  I reorganized my entire closet this weekend and only have my maternity clothing hanging up.  I can't wait to wear some of my new things I have bought and inherited from Julie and Stephanie!  I have started getting some heartburn which I have never had before in my life so that is a new experience.