Tag Archives: pregnancy

03/28/12

Ice Cream Baby Shower

My dear friend (and sorority Big Sis) is having a baby girl!!  To celebrate the upcoming arrival of Zoe, we threw an Ice Cream baby shower full of sweets, games, and lots of presents for the mommy to be.

i made these cones myself—very easy to do.  Just dip in chocolate and roll in nuts, sprinkles, or other toppings.  We served waffle bowls dipped in chocolate as well.

 

 

I also made these cupcakes in a cone.  My mom used to make these for us when we were kids.  So easy!

 

 The hostess with the mostest, miss elizabeth, serving guests.

 

guest of honor—glowing!!

 

adorable banner made by an Etsy shop, TwinsMomMade. sparkly and girly! We hung it over the gift table–lots of goodies for Zoe!

 

for guests to guess Zoe’s arrival date, inches, and weight

 

erica’s turn to guess! we blindfolded her and had her guess baby items— she has not quite yet figured out that this is a nursing bra :)

 

we also played the sock game—how many matches of baby socks can you make when the timer is a clickin?

 

and of course, all good parties start with good invites!  I ordered these from an Etsy shop, Unique Paper Creations.  She customized them specifically for our party (the above photo is only a sample.)  For Zoe’s we said:

“A baby Girl, it’s Erica’s dream, let’s celebrate Zoe with sweets and ice cream!”

 

And celebrate we did!  We can’t wait for Zoe to make her arrival this spring!!!

 

you should know (the fine print):  I received the ice cream banner and the invites for free in exchange for featuring them in this post.  Also, thanks to my friend, Amelia, for providing most of these great photos!

01/6/11

Our engagement!

As if we didn’t have quite enough going on this month, david and i added to the excitement by getting engaged! we are so excited!

we’ve wanted our focus the past few months to be on all the crazy changes—including moving to wv, david starting his residency, and most importantly, preparing for the baby. but we are glad to have added one more important life changing event to the table. we have no idea about a wedding date (everyone’s first question!!) because we still want to focus on the baby for now… he will be here sooooo soon!!
 
our engagement night was very special. we drove up to pittsburgh and had dinner at a nice restaurant downtown… the kind of restaurant that has nicer toilet paper in their bathrooms than we do at home (sad, but true :) it was special, as we very rarely treat ourselves to that kind of place.
after dinner, we decided to take a ride up the pittsburgh incline. it was very neat! we rode up an enclosed cable car and when we got to the top, we had a great view of the city skyline.
 

ride up the incline….


of course i needed to use the restroom, so atop the incline we stopped at the first restaurant we saw, called the georgetowne inn.

we just planned on using the restroom, but the atmosphere in there was so nice we decided to get a table and have drinks (him) and dessert (me). the inn was soooo nice and cozy. since it was a sunday night there was hardly anyone there. the waitress sat us right against the window and we had the best and most private view of pittsburgh (see below). it was nice.
 

 
i enjoyed the best strawberry shortcake i think i have ever had. then, i went to the restroom (yes, again). when i came back, the waitress brought us both champagne flutes. i was just excited to see champagne, as i haven’t had any alcohol in the past nine months!! i took a sip and mine was ginger ale :( but the good news was what was in it…. a beautiful ring!!

then david took it out of the flute, got on one knee and proposed. it was so perfect. we stayed there for awhile and talked, just enjoying the privacy of the room and such an amazing view.

 
we treasured the peace and quiet, realizing this could very well be our last “date night” with eachother for awhile!! soon, everything will change!! but we can’t wait!
12/1/10

Baby Boy Nursery

for the baby’s room, I wanted to do something calm and not too overwhelming (not all the bright crayola primary colors) but also something with some umph (not just browns or tans, as I originally planned.)

 

Thus, this jungle themed nursery was born.  The furniture is from Pottery Barn Kids, and everything else is a collection from various stores, or a DIY project.

 

Here are some pictures…. can’t wait for him to be here and love it as much as we do :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/10/10

Really Big Baby??

some families pass down impressive genetic traits. like beautiful baby blue eyes or curly, shiny hair. what trait do the women in my family pass down? apparently, BIG babies. like, really big.

my mom said all four of us were well over 8 lbs, with julie being over 10 lbs at birth. my sisters, too, have set remarkable precedent for big babies with ethan at 10 lbs 8 ounces and zoe at 11 lbs 2 ounces. (no, that is not a typo!)
 
so, i shouldn’t have been surprised at the doctor’s yesterday when she said that i was “measuring ahead.” “What does that mean,” I asked her, as i thought we were very confident on the due date. she said it means that my due date is not in question, but rather, that he is measuring larger than typical for 28 weeks. well, great.
 
i mentioned to her that my family had large babies and this was all she needed to get the discussion rolling. while she’s not concerned it will mean anything unhealthy for me or the baby, she said we will definitely have to take it into consideration as i try to have my natural, non c-section, no epidural delivery.
 
she said its one thing to not have an epidural… it’s another to not have an epidural and vaginally deliver a 10 lb baby. in fact, she mentioned that after a certain weight we should probably consider a c-section, given that i have no precedent as a first time mom that i am…ummm… big enough down there…. to handle it. not exactly the news i wanted to hear, but at least i heard it now and can be considering it.
 
david was busy at work and wasn’t able to come to the appointment. to add a cherry to the top he informed that his family too is prone to having larger babies. well, smuge.
 
still hoping to not have to go that route but staying flexible to whatever happens.
thanks mom for such “special” genes :)
11/8/10

Momma the Mall Walker

I have hit a new level of sacrifice for this child growing inside me that I never thought i would. it was one thing to ease up on the diet cokes, add a little milk to my cereal in the mornings, and yet another to entirely lose the ability to wear any pants in my closet that aren’t made of elastic. but this is a new kind of sacrifice.

momma is now an official mall walker. it is so sad. david laughed and said, “i always made fun of those people!” i did too. i feel like even my unborn child can feel the embarrassement of joining the mall walkers club. but my yoga instructor mentioned that woman who want to have an all natural birth should–as a prerequisite–be walking about 3 miles per day prior to delivery. so i am trying to get in at least 2 miles a few days a week.

 

originally i was walking outdoors like a normal person. but it has been cold here lately (we had snow on saturday!) and the hills outside were killing me. at least the mall is a flat walk.

 

i bought a pedometer that attaches to my sweatpants (cool!) so i actually wear it when i walk to measure my distance. i learned quickly that walking in the mall can be VERY dangerous…. here are some of my daily distractions:

i have learned to leave my wallet in the car and not to stop at any store for shopping. i strictly stick with my laps around the perimeter… if not, this could end up a very expensive hobby!

 

soon it will be getting very crowded with seasonal and holiday shoppers getting in the way of us “regulars.” sigh… the things we do for love :)

09/26/10

The Gender Party

we are excited to have found out that we are having a precious little baby boy!! i am so relieved to know the sex. not only can i now plan better–thinking of names, planning for the nursery, shopping, etc–but i also feel more emotionally connected to the baby now that it is no longer an “it” but can be imagined as a little boy!

kind of a big deal…

so we kind of went over board in making the sex unveiling a really big deal. but it was fun! david and i took a trip to louisville for the doctor’s appointment last week. david took his first two days of vacation since he started in june… so that itself was a treat. our trip to louisville was fun, but busy. there were lots of people we wanted to see and were thrilled to be able to do so!
after a weekend of anticipation, we went to the doctor on monday for the big ultrasound. we immediately told the ultrasound tech that we did want to know the sex, but not right away. we asked her to write down the baby’s sex on a post it and put it in an envelope so we could open it later. lots of people apparently do this, so the u/s tech was familiar with the process.
we wanted to see the baby during the u/s though, and we were able to do so. omg, it was absolutely amazing!! it was so much different than seeing the baby at the last u/s at 8 weeks. at that point, we couldn’t see much, but this time our baby was SO developed. it was incredible!
the first thing i saw on the ultrasound was his feet. i teared up. i mean, they were like REAL baby feet!! it looked just like a human foot, only tiny. i couldn’t believe it. then we got to see how our baby is developing. we identified two kidneys, two arms, two legs, and a four chambered heart. it was so amazing! we also saw his spine. it’s incredible how you can see bones. we were relieved and ecstatic to hear and see that he was healthy!! he was moving around and kicking a lot!
once the u/s tech was ready to identify the sex, she told us we might want to look away from the screen, which we did. neither one of us cheated or peeked!! david then asked her, “can you tell what it is?” and she said, “Yep, I got it.” she then took some great pictures, put the sex in an envelope and let us meet with the doctor.

the big announcement…

my mom made a special dinner that night, and with our family, we opened the envelope and discovered the sex. the post it said “congrats! it’s a boy!” and the ultrasound picture gave such evidence~~ i don’t think either one of us were too surprised it was a boy. david is thrilled!!
my family made both pink and blue desserts and of course, the boy treats were served. it was a great night! after dinner, we drove from louisville to david’s parents house to share the news with them. we talked about names in the car, but we still are not having much luck in that area : )
our favorite ultrasound pictures…
his profile…
his ADORABLE foot!!
one of his hands!!
planning…i’ve now started to think about the nursery decor. we should be ordering nursery furniture this week, which is exciting! im trying not to go overboard with it, but its hard to do :) i told david that the baby’s nursery is very important to its development!! i think a well designed nursery makes the baby feel loved and secured, and that’s the best learning environment :) in other words, how cute the room is matters! im planning on grandma cathy and papa gary to come in town and help.
thanks to everyone for their excitement and congratulations. we are very excited to see that our baby is a boy and more importantly, HEALTHY!!
08/24/10

Prenatal Yoga

Ohmygosh, every pregnant woman should consider prenatal yoga. i went to my first class last night and i loved it! if they offered the class on a daily basis, i would go every day.
i did some yoga before i was pregnant but hadn’t done it in awhile. prenatal yoga is the perfect exercise for preggies. class was an hour and a half long and ended with meditation. it is supposed to prepare you for childbirth by teaching calming and breathing techniques and also by strengthening your mind and body for delivery. the class also teaches certain posses and stretches that help throughout the pregnancy and even on to motherhood.
the instructor was from france and had a neat accent. the best part is the camaraderie of the group. it was great being with other pregnant women who are experiencing the same thing as me. it was a neat bonding experience with the baby too.
they also offer partner yoga (yeah, i’ll have to run that one by david) where they teach the partner how to help the mom during delivery. 6 weeks before your due date they offer Birthing Bootcamp. that one sounds scary, so we’ll see : ) after the baby is born they offer a class called “mommy and me baby yoga” which sounds fun!
i recommend it to all the pregnant ladies…worth a try! i was skeptical because it is somewhat an expensive hobby but it was entirely worth the cost. looking forward to my next class!
07/9/10

12 week check up

today was doctor appointment number two for me and baby and we got a great report!! (i love getting A’s!!)

i am still six pounds under my pre pregnancy weight but the nurse said that was okay. she also said next time i will probably NOT be underweight…i believe her :) the weight loss is completely attributable to my healthier eating choices. it’s amazing how you’ll change your whole diet once someone else is relying on you for everything. my fast food days are dying down (sad) because of the little voice in my head that feels guilty feeding my child mcnuggets. its one thing to put whatever i want in my own body, its another to put it in our baby’s. however, i have definitely still enjoyed a few bad treats. for instance, natalie just TWISTED my arm one day and FORCED me to eat skyline : ) my dad suggested the 80/20 diet meaning that if i try my best to eat well 80% of the time, i can fill a sugar craving every now and then guilt free.

 

im hoping my healthier choices will stay with me after the baby is born. i’m sure they will for the time i am breastfeeding, but it will be up to me after that.

 

the appointment today was very fast. i heard the heartbeat for a few seconds, which was so cute! when i got to the office, a nurse mistakenly told me i would have an ultrasound. so i got my hopes up and was looking forward to seeing our baby, which did not happen. but the heartbeat was comforting enough.

 

the doctor also asked if we wanted to do any of the pre-screening tests. we opted out of both, knowing that we wouldn’t want to change anything about the pregnancy regardless of any test results. it is pretty neat though that technology and medicine have advanced that far.

 

mommy and baby are happy we received a good report today!! next check up is 4 weeks away.

07/8/10

What will our baby look like?


There is a very cool website which “morphs” photos of the mom and the dad to create an image of what your baby might look like. It’s a little creepy, I know, but kind of fun. So I wasted 20 minutes of my day and tried it. This little one is kind of cute, though I’m sure won’t hold a candle to our real baby : )

Technology may be great, but my faith is in genetics…!!

06/5/10

Surprise!

Surprise!! David and I are very excited to announce that we will be expecting our lil precious baby to get here around January 29th. January seems so far away, though we have decided that the reason pregnancy takes nine months is because that’s how long it takes the mommy and daddy to agree on a name!

 

How we found out….

The day after David made the move to West Virginia we found out I was pregnant. It should come as no surprise, but being the frugal shopper that I am, I only bought one test and I bought the generic one at that! Since David was out of town I went over to aunt erica and uncle jas’ house. Erica told me to go back to the store to buy a box of two tests and the costly, non-generic kind! After three positive home pregnancy tests I was still not completely convinced (yes, I’m aware they are 99% accurate, but you just never know!) but erica and jason assured me that three dark blue plus signs on three different sticks means only one thing… pregnant, pregnant, and pregnant. When I called david to tell him the news he was shopping at wal mart. he was just as surprised as mommy!! but he was also very, very excited.

 

1st Doc Appt…

David drove in 6 hours each way from West Virginia to be at our first doctor’s appointment. It was a looonnng visit. They don’t always do ultrasounds at 8 weeks, but we really wanted one and pulled the “he drove six hours” card. So the doctor took pity on us and did an ultrasound. In a small, dark doctor’s office, we first saw our baby’s heartbeat. It was amazing.

 

Sharing the news…

We shared the news first with the grandparents. All of the grandparents, aunts and uncles are excited and anxious!! We then shared the news with our other family and friends. We want to thank all of our family and friends for their excitement and support!!

 

Etc…

Mommy is looking for jobs in West Virginia on a daily basis so our family can be together. david just started his residency program so will have more than enough work to keep him busy until the baby gets here!! he is balancing it all very well. he’s going to be a great dad!!