Parent Memories

I'm feeling extra bloggy today and wanted to split it into two posts, because my other one would have just gotten too long if I kept going.

So I've been obsessing over becoming a mom (LOVE SAYING THAT - "becoming a mom") and I wonder about EVERYTHING....What will they look like? What will it feel like? What kind of parent will I be? What memories will they keep forever?

The last one got me thinking about memories I've kept forever. True some are fuzzier than others and may not be entirely accurate, but it's nice to think that if I keep memories of my parents that someday maybe my little bug will have memories of me.



A few of my favorites of my mom:



I remember I was riding home on the bus, maybe for the first time ever, and I was too scared to get off so my mom had to jump on and get me.

One time we sat in my room and I read a couple pages from my diary and we laughed so hard we cried.

I remember the way she smelled when her and my dad would go out dancing (i think she wore Poison) and she looked so pretty.

I remember sneaking into bed when I was little and snuggling up to her (I also did it when I was in college and had a bad breakup (Stupid Chris, hahaha))

Once I wasn't feeling well and I was sitting next to my mom in her car and said "if I throw up before I have time to tell you I am going to, will you be mad?" She said no and I immediately proceeded to throw up.  We pulled over and she cleaned me off and didn't get mad :) I have no idea how old I was when that happened.

Shopping...........a lot ;)

A few of my favorites of my dad:



I remember snuggling up and napping next to him when I was younger.

Going hunting and killing my first rabbit (which was a big deal) and knowing how proud he was of me (what can I say, I'm a country girl at heart)

playing hide and seek and scaring my mom/or having my mom scare me (long story, not my favorite mom memory, HAHAHA)

I remember how excited he would act when I gave him a huge thing of popcorn for Christmas (every year)

Once I bleached our green carpet when I was doing laundry and instead of getting mad, he told me about the time he poked a hole in his pool when he was digging around it. He said "you'll never get in trouble when you're trying to do something good"

Father/Daughter dance at my wedding



And not to get TOO CORNY, but they also gave me many memories of a happy marriage, which is nice to take with me into my own marriage.

I hope I can give my children memories like these.  They aren't big things or expensive things, they just meant a lot and will stay with me for many years to come.

15 Weeks and 3 Days

How far along: 15 weeks 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: about 5 lbs. I think

Maternity clothes: Wearing maternity clothes because they are just more comfortable.  Still wearing regular shirts just as much though and regular sweatpants too.

Sleep: Still having crazy dreams, but sleeping pretty good. Getting up more often to pee but not every night.

Best moment this week: Seeing Savannah :) We had dinner for my brother's 30th Birthday on Sunday and I just love that little princess to pieces! It was a very special visit. I also just got an invitation to Savannah's 1st BIRTHDAY! Where does the time go???? I can't wait to see how she is with her little cousin.

Movement: not yet, but I hear it can start any day now so waiting impatiently

Food cravings: Tea, which I have been having every morning.  I try not to have any other caffeine besides that though.  Cereal is also good, but I think it has a lot to do with the milk that I add to it.  I swear I drink 2 gallons of milk a week. I can't get enough of that stuff right now.

Labor Signs: nope.

Belly Button in or out: innie.

What I miss: My Triple Venti Cinnamon Dolce Latte that tastes so good on a cold morning!

What I am looking forward to: Next Appointment on Monday :) 

Weekly Wisdom:  Relax and Enjoy! as always :)

Internet Info: While baby’s moving a ton on the inside, you might be moving a ton -- between the sheets. Now that you’re at 15 weeks, you’re probably feeling very high energy, and that means high libido, too. Your partner isn’t feeling nearly as frisky? That’s totally normal too. Let’s face it, the thought of baby being so close while you two are, um, doing the deed, can freak a guy out. Remind him that baby has no idea what’s going on -- and, as long as your OB hasn’t given you any activity restrictions -- sex won’t hurt baby or threaten your pregnancy. Of course, you might be dealing with some not-so-sexy pregnancy symptoms during week 15, like nosebleeds, stomach issues and swollen gums, so if you’re not feeling up to sex, it’s completely understandable.

your baby's the size of a navel orange!

The average fetus at 15 weeks weighs 2.5 ounces and measures 4 inches -- and his proportions are becoming even more normal, since his legs now out measure his arms.

Chris is away in Vegas this week for work, which was awful since we had the worst storm on RECORD! To be honest the storm wasn't that bad but being stuck in the house for 4 days by myself sucked! I was so happy to come into work today just to be around other people. It also made it hard to take a pic so I had to do it in two parts.  I am getting pretty lazy with these chalkboard drawings, hopefully I get motivated again one of these days.........

I also had my first baby dream where the baby had a gender. It was a girl :) We'll have to see if that is a sign of things to come.

I definitely have way more energy now and I have been staying up til about 10pm which is my usual bedtime before baby.  I am getting very anxious to find out the gender and have been considering going to a special sonogram place just to find out. I'll keep you posted, but I could just wait another 4 weeks and find out from the Dr. himself.  Will I have the willpower???? 

Oh yeah, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! No dressing up this year for the first time since I honestly can't even remember.  Chris took his priest costume to Vegas..............................that should be interesting.

There are 2 more houses on my street but neither of which is very close, wonder if I'll get any trick or treaters. I bought lots of candy so I don't know if I'm hoping they come and take it away or don't come so I can eat it more.

Last thought of the day............please please please let me start to get motivated to get to the GYM!!! It's going to start getting to cold to walk outside and I need need need to start doing it every day! 

Until Next time.....

Tracey :)

14 Weeks and 4 Days

How far along: 14 weeks 4 days

Total weight gain/loss: 2-5 lbs. I think

Maternity clothes: Wearing maternity clothes because they are just more comfortable.  Still wearing regular shirts just as much though and regular sweatpants too.

Sleep: Good except my stupid cat has been waking me up at 3am for the past week.  I had a dream last night I had a 15 pound baby!!! HELP

Best moment this week: Having Dan and Amanda visit.  We had a great time and they are so much fun to hang out with. 

Movement: not yet.

Food cravings: I crave to not eat Chicken still as it makes me want to throw up.  The protein portion of my meals in general haven't really excited me, but I love fruits and veggies.

Gender: I honestly have no idea.

Labor Signs: nope.

Belly Button in or out: innie.

What I miss: Wine, hot dogs, sushi, ITALIAN SUB, which I almost caved and got one the other day becuase it is one of those half say it's fine half dont, but I held myself back. we'll see if I can make it til April.

What I am looking forward to: Next Appointment and going to Stacie's baby shower this weekend to reveal to all my field hockey friends i'm pregnant!

Weekly Wisdom:  Relax and Enjoy! as always :)

Internet Info:  

your baby's the size of a lemon!
At week 14, your baby is 3.4 inches and 1.5 ounces, he's almost doubled in weight since last week and keeps on growing.

He's probably sucking his thumb and wiggling his toes in there!
His kidneys are making urine, and his liver and spleen are doing their jobs, too.
And he's growing lanugo, a thin, peach-fuzz-like hair, all over his body -- it will help him keep warm!

How about some feedback?? Comments?? Questions?? Is this entertaining for anyone else but me? :)

My Hubby

I know I already posted about Chris, but I think an update every now and again never hurt anybody.

I think I'm finally realizing why people refer to their husbands as "DH" in blogs.  I had to look up what it meant and I believe it stands for Darling Husband or Dear Husband.........same thing.  I think I'm lucky enough to have one of those Darling Husbands.

Now don't get me wrong, there are times where I want to give him a good punch in the nose or just completely strangle him (exaggerating ((slightly))) and hopefully most people who have been together 10 years would agree, but 99% of the time he is oh so great :)

I love the fact that there are little things that make me see how much he enjoys and wants to be a part of this pregnancy.  Today he got his flu shot, never before had he gotten a flu shot, but I think he did it just for baby. The doctor told us we should both get one and I got mine, but assumed Chris wouldn't just because I don't think they are necessary anyway.  I did it strictly because the doctor told me to.  Yes, I will consider any and every request/direction the doctor gives me.

I love how Chris always plays along with the game "If baby were here, where would they be?"  He normally answers laying on his chest (love it).

I love how he lets me show him every new PIN I have on PINTEREST and gives me his opinion.  He wants to be at every appointment and tells me how beautiful I look now more than ever.

I love how he lays next to me and reads his baby book while I read mine. (all 6 of mine, hahaha)

He helps with the laundry, vacuums everything (because it hurts my back), and has never once complained about being the only one who can clean out the kitty litter. He's a great guy and he spoils me.  This is one lucky baby getting a daddy like him. (i may start to cry, so better end here)

First Baby Present

I thought it would be fun to show you my first BABY PRESENT!

My college roommate drove 2 and a half hours yesterday just to see me! How great is she? I probably was one of the luckiest girls at the University of Pittsburgh to have been paired with Tegan.  She was the sweetest, smartest, nicest person and I couldn't have been happier.  We even lived together sophomore year too, so I guess I wasn't all bad either, hahaha.

Anway, we always keep in touch every now and again either through facebook or a text or email.  She is a pharmacist so I call her with my craziest problems to make sure I'm not going to die, like the one time I forgot about something for several days and was praying toxic shock syndrome wasn't going to come on any second! :)  Luckily....I survived.

So we met for lunch (and ice cream) and to my happy surprise she had brought me this...

It's the University of Pittsburgh musical mobile!!!! It plays the Pitt fight song! I love it and Chris loved it too!

My first baby thing!!!!! It's now proudly in the nursery along with nothing else besides 3 boxes of junk we haven't put in the basement yet. I am sure that won't be the case for long, but for now I will admire it whenever I make my trips into the room for daydreaming.

Love my Teegs!

Funny Things

As I mentioned I am obsessed with other blogs. I would like to give a shout out to http://littlebabygarvin.blogspot.com/ as that is where I got the chalkboard idea from.

I also saw this on there which made me laugh....

So then I started looking up other funny stuff and found this....

It's not as funny, but whatev....  

Personal funny experience which is also tiny bit gross and definitely TMI ( so stop reading if you don't wanna know)......................................

Yesterday I ate a whole bunch of popcorn and today my pee smells like butter! True Fact, I swear. Weird though :)

Anyway, I like to see how other people are progressing in their pregnancies and compare myself. Some people said they could feel the baby as early as 14 WEEKS! That's this week, so here's to crossing my fingers, I doubt it though.  Some people find out the gender at the 16 week appointment, that's coming up next....crossing my toes too!

Until next time :)

Got the Pic

So it's raining and the perfect time to redo the chalkboard and get a pic.

Here I am, 13 weeks and 1 day....

If you are wondering if I steal my designs or come up with them myself, the answer is I steal the designs to a T from other people :) Doing the actual chalkboard is creativity enough for me.

Here is William, my current baby, wanted to get in on the action orrrrr i forced him to get a pic with me :)

Until next time..... :)

13 Weeks and 1 Day

How far along: 13 weeks 1 days

Total weight gain/loss: 2-5 lbs. I think

Maternity clothes: Wearing maternity pants at all times now and maternity shirts mostly on the weekends when I want to show off my belly :) Just bought 2 work outfits as I have 2 meetings this week and my work pants probably don't button anymore. Haven't told my boss yet so we'll see if he just thinks I'm getting fat this week, hahaha.

Sleep: Good, but have weird dreams. I normally have to pee around 3 a.m., but that doesn't happen every night thank goodness.

Best moment this week: Hanging out with friends this past weekend and everyone being excited for Baby Moher :)

Movement: not yet.

Food cravings: I don't crave anything in particular, but chicken makes me wanna puke, which I find really odd. I just don't think any form of chicken is appetizing right now.

Gender: I honestly have no idea.

Labor Signs: nope.

Belly Button in or out: innie.

What I miss: I know I probably could have done it anyway, but I missed the Baltimore Half Marathon! I haven't been running, just walking and I'm hoping after baby comes, maybe daddy and baby can cheer me on next year :)

What I am looking forward to: Next Appointment

Weekly Wisdom:  Relax and Enjoy! as always :)

Internet Info: Yay! It’s the last week of the first trimester and you did it. We’re not just talking about getting through those work meetings without falling asleep (or puking!), we’re talking about how you’ve completed one whole third of your pregnancy -- and the reputed toughest one at that. You’ve grown a fetus that has vocal cords, teeth and even fingerprints (wow!) and you probably kept this incredible news (mostly) secret while you constantly wished you could shout it from the rooftops -- or, at the very least, use it as an excuse for getting to work late. It’s about this time that many parents-to-be start spreading the word (to more people than just close family and friends) that there’s a baby on the way. But know that there are no hard and fast rules about when you should divulge your secret. It could be after your next prenatal doctor visit, once you start showing or at a big family event where everyone will be gathered. Or maybe everyone already knows! That’s totally your call. 
(everyone already knows hehe)

I am really going to try hard to get another pic done. The chalkboards take up more time then you would think, but maybe today after work I'll get really motivated..............maybe.

Obsessions

So, I think i'm starting to not get as tired throughout the day, but definitely still tired by 8:30pm :)  I'm hoping that will change within the next week or so because Chris is missing his couch buddy and has had to settle for William (the cat).

At the moment I am becoming completely OBSESSED with baby blogs and any other blog for the matter. I love reading about other women and what they are feeling/going through during the same period that I'm in right now.

I'm also obsessed with watching births on youtube. That may sound weird and gross to most of you, but I am just so obsessed with seeing how painful it is for some people and how easy it is for some people. I watched one video where I swear this girl pushed a baby out very easily with no pain and barely broke a sweat.  I need to get her number to get some pointers.

I'm also obsessed with baby rooms and baby furniture. Fortunately it hasn't moved to baby clothes yet, because they are a lot more accessible than the other things I like to oogle over all day.

These obsessions are making work a lot harder to focus on and before I know it I'm going to have an entire baby to distract me so better get with it sooner rather than later.

:)

12 Weeks and 2 Days

How far along? 12 weeks, 2 days
Total weight gain/loss? As of last Thursday I have gained 2 pounds total
Maternity clothes?I pretty much stick to maternity pants these days, but can still squeeze into a couple of pairs.
Sleep? Good. Currently I am out cold by 9pm every night :)
Best moment last week? Seeing Baby on ultrasound which followed a not so good moment of not being able to find the heartbeat. All worked out though
Movement? Nada
Food cravings? Cereal (Trix, Fruit Loops) and Chicken makes me wanna puke this week. Don't know why..
Gender? No idea
Labor signs? Nope
Belly button in/out? In
What I miss: Nothing at the moment. Feeling very anxious to get this pregnancy timeline moving!
What I am looking forward to: Buying Baby Stuff, Decorating Nursery, Finding out Gender
your baby at 12 weeks

Most of her critical systems are fully formed!
She's about to enter the growth and maturation stage, in which her organs and tissues will grow and develop rapidly.
She's now developing her reflexes -- if you poke her body, she'll likely move.
She's opening and closing her fingers and curling her toes, too.
Her brain is developing fast!

Appointment #2

So, I just got done my second appointment and please tell me they get less stressful? I went in and at first they couldn't find a heartbeat, when I heard that I'm pretty sure my heart stopped as well. Of course my wonderful doctor told me it was completely normal and scooted me right into an ultrasound room to see it.

About 2 seconds after he put the scanner on my stomach (first time I got the slimey goo on my belly :) ) the baby showed up. doctor's first words were "everything looks great, there is the strong heartbeat". I didn't get to hear it though :( I saw it on the monitor for a second, but I didn't hear it. I know, poor me! I did get another picture though...

There you are little one. Getting bigger by the minute!

I asked a lot more questions this time and got great answers. Best news of all was I am actually down 1 lb. from my last appt. Technically I'm still 2 lbs. over my "normal" weight so we'll go with +2. I'm happy with that! Doctor said I should try to gain only 15 lbs., well now I only have 13 left to go.

13 POUNDS!?!?!?! I could gain that in one sitting! Chris just got us some tennis rackets so hopefully we can take advantage soon and he tries to get me on walks every night. Right now we walk probably 2-3 times a week. I'll try to up that, but it ain't easy when you are going to bed at 8pm every night.

This is the second doctor in the practice I've seen and I love him just as much as my first doctor. I feel very lucky to have found a place that makes me feel so good on the first try. Hopefully we keep this streak going. The practice has 8 doctor's so I'll meet all of them before delivery day.

2nd Trimester comes next week. I'm excited about that. I like milestones.

I'm still scared all the time that something bad will happen but working on trying to not let it creep in my brain too much. Am I crazy?

11 Weeks and 1 Day

How far along: 11 weeks 1 days

Total weight gain/loss: 0 - 3 lbs. I think, but we'll find out at my appt. Thursday

Maternity clothes: Wearing maternity jeans regularly even though I still fit in a few pair of my jeans.

Sleep: Not good last night. Starting to wonder how long I can sleep on my back and stomach.

Best moment this week: Buying a "baby friendly" car :)

Movement: not yet.

Food cravings: Milk

Gender: Still leaning towards boy

Labor Signs: nope.

Belly Button in or out: innie.

What I miss: Sausage

What I am looking forward to: Baby bump and Appt. #2

Weekly Wisdom:  Relax and Enjoy! as always :)

Internet Info: Your fetus is about 1.6 inches long, and she's got about a 1:1 head to body ratio. She now weighs in at about .25 ounces.

You can't see it, but she's moving fluidly and gracefully in there.
Her skin is see-through, but she's on her way to looking more like a baby.
Her fingers and toes aren't webbed anymore.
Tooth buds, hair follicles and nail beds are forming.