Week 20 Bumpdate

How far along: 20 weeks (HALF WAY THERE!!!!!)
Baby Size: 6.5 inches long, 10 oz
Maternity clothes: All the time. My sweet neighbor left me a bag of her maternity clothes this week. It's like my wardrobe doubled overnight! I can't wait to wear some of the cute things she passed down :)
  Stretch marks: None yet... hopefully this answer never changes
Sleep: I slept like a rock this week. We went to the beach so the sun and all of the activities wore me out!

Gender: Boy!  

Movement: I definitely felt him for sure for the first time on Memorial Day. It was so strong Rich was able to feel it too! Since then I have been feeling him kick at least once a day. Sometimes it startles me!
Best moment this week: Getting away!!! I was in desperate need of sun and relaxation!
Looking forward to: Our 20 week ultrasound this week! We haven't seen Pumpkin since our 12 week appointment. It will be nice to see how big he's gotten and make sure everything is okay.
Food cravings: Cheez-its   Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Labor Signs: Will start answering this after 34 weeks.   What I miss: Enjoying a glass of wine while watching the Bachelorette.   Symptoms: Lower abdomen and back pains when I wake up in the morning. And being kicked from the inside!  
Nursery: No updates on the nursery this week :(   Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On 

Mood: Relaxed
Workouts: I ran outside for 30 minutes every day we were at the beach. I also got a pregnancy toning workout video I am going to try to do in combination with walking and running. I did a 20 minute leg and lower body segment yesterday and I am feeling it today!

We enjoyed the beach.

Our beach companions (Rich's sister and brother-in-law (top) and parents (bottom)).

Until next time... Tressa

Week 19 Bumpdate

How far along: 19 weeks!
Baby Size: 6 inches long, 1/2 pound
Maternity clothes: Exclusively, except for workout clothes. I am going to try to make at least my workout pants work the entire pregnancy since they are stretchy anyways... we'll see how that goes. I bought a few more lounge-around-the-house type clothes (leggings and t-shirts) at Old Navy this weekend.
  Stretch marks: None yet
Sleep: Waking up 1 or 2 times a night to go to the bathroom.

Gender: It's a Boy!  

Movement: I am feeling things more often and I think it's him. Still not very strong.
Best moment this week: Taking a tour of a Pediatrician's office and meeting Pumpkin's future doctor. One more thing crossed off the list!
Looking forward to: We are going to the beach this weekend and it got me thinking about taking Pumpkin to the beach someday! I am looking forward to that!
Food cravings: Fries... I know they are not good for you but I love them!   Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Labor Signs: Will start answering this after 34 weeks.   What I miss: It's going to be hard to miss out on all the fun alcoholic beverages at the beach this weekend. Hopefully the virgin versions will satisfy :)   Symptoms: Lower abdomen and back pains when I wake up in the morning.  
Nursery: I purchased this print to be centered over the changing table and a large white bead board frame to put it in. Now I am looking for some other artwork (something smaller) to go on either side. I also finished making a pillow for the glider. It's a white canvas fabric and I appliqued his name onto it with seersucker fabric. Since we are not sharing the name until he is born I had to hide it...   Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On 

Mood: Content... I think the upcoming vacation is making me more relaxed and less anxious.
Workouts: I've been good. I've been waking up and going to the gym to do the elliptical a few days this week and I also ran a 5K!
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!!!
Until next time... Tressa

Week 18 Bumpdate

How far along: 18 weeks!
Baby Size: 5.5 inches long 
Maternity clothes: Most of the time. I can still fit into my normal clothes... but they look funny on me. The maternity clothes show off my small bump better.
  Stretch marks: None yet
Sleep: Waking up 1 or 2 times a night to go to the bathroom.

Gender: It's a Boy!  

Movement: I think I felt him move a few days ago when I was laying in bed. It was very faint so I'm not completely sure. A few days before that I felt the "bubble/popcorn" feeling people described.
Best moment this week: Celebrating my first mother's day :) It was a really nice day... but next year is going to be so much better!!!! 
Looking forward to: Decorating Pumpkin's Nursery
Food cravings: Watermelon   Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Labor Signs: Will start answering this after 34 weeks.   What I miss: A glass of wine with dinner :(   Symptoms: Growing belly and my back is starting to ache.  
Nursery: Before this week we already had the glider/recliner and changing table/dresser. Since the closet in the nursery is pretty basic (just one shelve up high and a bar to hang clothing on), I wanted to get some sort of shelving to make use of the space near the floor. So I bought this inexpensive ClosetMaid organizer from Target and a few of the fabric drawers in blue. We don't have a lot of storage space in our house... so I think the drawers will be great for storing extra sheets and bath towels and toys on the shelves. 

  Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On 

Mood: Happy and Anxious 
Workouts: I was bad this week... I think I only made it to the gym once and took a walk with Rex one day. I had a cold this week and used that as an excuse. I'm going to be better next  week now that I am mostly over the cold.

Rich got artsy with the camera and took these really cool shots with a shadow on the board.... 

Until next time... Tressa

The Big Reveal

Unless you've been living under a rock.... you know that gender reveal parties are all the rage these days. As someone who loves planning parties, I knew the moment I got pregnant that I just had to jump on the gender reveal party bandwagon.

Most of the time the parents-to-be find out what they are having at the same time as all of their party guests. The doctor seals the gender in an envelope and the couple takes it to a bakery, party store etc. to have whatever they are going to use as the reveal made. However, this option wasn't really available to us as we found out the gender of our baby in a non-traditional way. We did a blood test and received a call with the results instead of going into the office and having an ultrasound. We also had a 2 week window in which we could receive the call- which made planning the party difficult. As a result, I ended up getting the call at an inconvenient time to have the party and had to wait 2 weeks to have the big reveal. Believe me.... it was so hard to keep the secret to ourselves that long. I had to be so careful not to give any clues when I talked to anyone about the baby.

We decided to do a box of balloons instead of a cake as our big reveal. We thought it would make for better pictures and everyone at the party would be able to see it at the same time. Luckily, we had a large box (that our stroller/carrier travel system came in). So I just wrapped it in kraft paper and made a question mark out of scrap wrapping paper to make it pretty. Rex (our golden retriever pictured below) was so excited when he saw us come home with all the balloons that morning. I think he thought they were toys for him.

The party decor:

I love banners/signs, but I don't want to pay a lot for them. I find they usually turn out better when you make them yourself. I made the sign below using card stock (left over from a wedding project, ribbon and a printer). It was very easy and I loved the way it looked in the doorway.

Photo taken by Laurence Smith :)

We had a little station by the door where guests had to write their guess and pick up some pink or blue Mardi Gras beads. I had a little framed print out of old wives tales to help them with their decision. Most people choose team pink, but team blue had a good number as well.

Photo taken by Laurence Smith :)

I wanted to have a lot of pink and blue themed food.... but that's harder than you might think. We ended up with pink and blue cupcakes (by Eileen Carter Creations), pink and blue peeps and a pink and blue themed drink station. Everything else was normal party food.

Photo taken by Laurence Smith :)

Photo taken by Laurence Smith

The dessert spread.... yummy. The cookies (from Costco) were the first thing to go!

The drink station... My husband went to Michigan and the "go pink or go blue" with the pink lemonade and Labatt Blue beers was his clever idea.

The main food spread... my helpers Sarah and Dedra are in the background. They came early to help me decorate and prepare food. The party would have fallen apart without them!

The deviled eggs were the first item to go. I've never been a big fan of deviled eggs because of all of the mayonnaise they contain. However, I found this recipe were you use Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, making them a super healthy pregnancy-friendly food. People loved them!

The Big Reveal:

About an hour into the party, we gathered everyone outside to watch the reveal. My sister (who lives in England) and Rich's sister (who lives in Florida) were both present via skype. We thought it would be nice to have our moms open the box, since we already knew what it was.

It's a Boy!!!! I think Rex was the most excited when those balloons came out of that box!

The parents to be, photo taken by Laurence Smith :) 

Photo taken by Laurence Smith :)

Rich's Popou (grandfather) is really excited about his first great grandchild. Photo taken by Laurence Smith :)

The littlest guest, enjoying the party festivities. She is excited for the arrival of her playmate this fall! Photo taken by her mother Laurence Smith :)

I think everyone enjoyed the party, for many it was their first gender reveal party. I was one very exhausted pregnant lady when the party was over!

We also had a very young party guest of the canine breed....

Dedra's dog Camp playing with Rex.

Let's just say I wasn't the only one exhausted after the party.

Photo taken by Laurence Smith :)

Until next time...

Tressa

Intro to my life...

Hello there! Welcome to my Blog. I wanted to create a blog to document my pregnancy and share my adventures as a new mom with friends and family that do not live close. However, all who are interested are welcome to follow my adventures and give me their input as I embark on this new stage of my life.That said... I should start by sharing a little about myself....

My husband Rich and I are both accountants (I know such boring jobs... however, I promise we are fun people). We met in 2008 when we were both working for Ernst & Young and got married on July 3, 2011. Our wedding was at Little Gardens in Lawrenceville, Georgia and we honeymooned in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

From our wedding at Little Gardens.

From our honeymoon in Mexico.

We have enjoyed married life and so far it's been really easy. I love the life we've built together and our little starter home just outside of Atlanta in a city called Brookhaven. We are so excited about entering the next stage of our lives... though it has not been easy getting here.

Although I was ready to be a mother soon after we got married, we had some things we wanted to cross off our list first; take a trip to Europe, pay off all of my student debt. pay off car loans etc. Once we had checked all of those things off our list, we were ready to start our family. I thought it would happen right away, but became very frustrated when month after month it wasn't happening. I have been ready to be a mother long before we even started trying, so you can imagine my anguish when it wasn't happening. I talked to my OB about it at my regular appointment (about 8 months into trying) and she did some tests and referred us to a fertility specialist. Although at the time I wished she had just prescribed some fertility drugs for me to try before going to a specialist, I'm glad she didn't because I believe it would have just let to more frustration and waiting. It was really scary going to a specialist, but I'm really glad I went right away and got things figured out, because if I hadn't I would still probably be frustrated and depressed trying to conceive. The specialist diagnosed me with something called PCOS which was causing me not to ovulate on a regular basis. I had 2 cycles of treatment at the fertility specialist... it was a really hard and depressing time in my life, but I am so glad I did it because there was a light at the end of the tunnel! I think it's prepared me for what's ahead and made me a stronger person. I am also so thankful it only took 2 cycles... we know and met other people through this process that it took a lot longer for.

We found out on January 31, 2014 that we are officially pregnant!!!! We are over the moon excited. It was so hard to keep our secret. Rich was ready to tell everyone right away, but I told him I would like to wait until our first ultrasound and then we can tell our families. We waited until we got closer to 12 weeks to tell most other people.... and those weeks crept by so SLOWLY. Today we are 17 weeks and 3 days pregnant (only 22 weeks until baby Mayk.... aka "Pumpkin" is here). My due date is October 11, 2014.

This is Pumpkin's first ultrasound picture at 6 weeks, he was the size of a poppy seed! I was so thankful to see a baby in there.... I had a fear before going to the doctor that they would look and there would be nothing in there!!!!

This ultrasound was at 7 weeks.... he doubled in size over the week!

This was our ultrasound at 12 weeks. I was so excited to see Pumpkin looking more baby-like. They had to take some measurements and he was in the wrong position, so they poked at my belly to get him to move around. It was so cool to see!

I plan to update my blog with a pregnancy picture every week, but want to "play catch up" post all of the bump pictures we've taken so far.

Weeks 9 to 15

16 weeks

17 weeks

So far my pregnancy has been great... I've felt great. I didn't really have much morning sickness in the first trimester, I was just very tired. I want to enjoy every moment of being pregnant. I can't wait for all the milestones to come... feeling him kick for the first time, hearing his heart beat and seeing his ultrasound picture at each appointment. I can't believe in just 22 weeks I will be holding my precious little boy! 

Until next time....

Tressa