Here I am at 12 1/2 weeks already sporting a little belly…

Bye, bye normal clothes!

Some cool stuff we have bought for the new baby… As you can tell, our nursery will be sage green, and the decor will be Classic Pooh. So cute!

Classic Pooh Bedding from Target

Classic Pooh Prints from Signals.com

Dr. Suess “Cat in the Hat” Onesie from Signals.com

Yesterday, Sean and I went to our 12 week doctor’s appointment. This was a pretty uneventful one. No blood work or invasive procedures, thank goodness! We were in and out of there in 10 minutes! The doctor came in and listened to the heartbeat with a Doppler. The little sucker was hard to find – he must have been hiding! But once he found it, the heartbeat was very strong and healthy. So, we were happy and breathed a sigh of relief. I always get nervous for some reason and feel so much better once we hear it. We won’t go back for another 4 weeks, so we’ll keep on eating until November.

Oh! I didn’t gain a single pound, and I almost fell off the scale. I feel huge. haha! With as much as I have been eating, I’ve only gained three pounds since the pregnancy, and apparently I am right on target. So, I guess I won’t complain.

We finally decided it was time to get a jump start on our baby registry, so this past weekend we ventured out to Babys R Us and Target to pick out some of the bigger items. We had already decided that we would pick out generic colors and fabric for the larger items, so we can hopefully save those for future children. I’ve been feeling a lot better lately (finally at 12 weeks, YAY!), so I had the energy to get out of the house and look around.

Our first stop was Babies R Us. It was helpful we went on a Saturday when it was crowded because a lot of new parents were giving us some great advice. It seems that a lot of the moms had bought travel system strollers, the ones with the carrier and the stroller, but they despised them once they brought the baby home. The carriers are very heavy, especially when the baby starts growing, and the strollers that come with those carriers often are bulky and also very heavy. So, it made shopping a chore for these new moms, and they found themselves back at the baby superstore shopping for a lightweight stroller option. So, we opted to pick out a lightweight stroller that also accomodated a carrier. Then, we could buy a stroller that was much lighter in weight, and also choose if we wanted to use the carrier with the stroller, or just leave the carrier in the car and put the baby in the stroller. It gave us a lot more options, and I could lift the stroller with one hand and toss it in the trunk. So, we appreciated that advice! In addition to the stroller and carrier/car seat, we also picked out a Pack ‘N Play. One of my friends just adopted a newborn, and I have learned by observing with her and her little one. They use the Pack ‘N Play ALL THE TIME. She barely ever used the bassinet they bought, so we marked that one off our list, and will invest in good baby monitors. All of her moving and little noises kept them up during the few hours they could get some sleep, so she transitioned her to the crib within 3 weeks. Makes sense to me! If all I get is an hour at a time, let me have the full, solid hour! haha…

Next stop was Target. Well, actually it was Chik-Fil-A because I was hungry, but what’s new?! We can skip that part. I had seen a crib that I really liked on the Target website, but I really wanted to see it in person before we bought it. A lot of times the images on websites can be deceiving. So, we rounded the corner to the baby section, and there was the crib I wanted! I was so glad it was on display, so we could take a good look at it. And that was the one we liked the most. It’s a convertible crib WITH a drop-down side. It is hard to find that combination, so we were happy to see it had both of the features we wanted. Sean is super tall, so he would have no problem if the side didn’t drop down, but I would break my back, so this was an important feature to me. With it being a convertible crib, it will convert into a toddler bed, a daybed, and a full-size bed. We thought it was well worth the money and a great deal, if we could get more long-term use out of it, so that is what we went with.

So, there you have it! The big items have been chosen. You can search for our baby registries at Babies R Us and Target, if you want a sneak peek. Our 12 week doctor’s appointment is tomorrow, so we are super excited to hear the heartbeat again! 3 months down, and 6 more to go!

This past Sunday, Sean made his decision to follow Jesus public by being baptized at church. When the pastor asked him how we came to trust Jesus as his Savior, Sean said, “I just gave up!” Everyone in the congregation got a good chuckle out of that story, and that’s exactly what we are all called to do. Congratulations, honey! I’m so proud of you!

All of our family was there to celebrate, and even a few of our friends from our Bible Study class came to show their support, too! Of course, we finished the night off at our house with dessert! YUM! Here are a few pictures…

It was this past Sunday when reality finally hit me. My pants do not fit me anymore. I cannot possibly make the waist stretch out any further. With homecoming coming up at my old church this Sunday, family coming into town for Sean’s baptism, and a friend’s wedding on Saturday, I decided it was time to go maternity clothes shopping. So, off I went to Macy’s and Motherhood Maternity.

I stuck to the basics and did pretty well. I was surprised how cheap maternity clothes were. Normally, you would spend $40-80 on a new pair of jeans, but jeans run $20-40 in the maternity department. It seems clothing is about half of what it would be in the “normal” department. Also, the customer service at Motherhood Maternity is FABULOUS! I highly recommend it. Everyone knows how big I am on customer service, but this was over the top! They help you put outfits together that you can mix and match, and they even have a pillow you can wear to show how the outfit will look two months down the road. Pretty nifty! Now that I’m not working, the demand for clothes and cost of clothes has decreased tremendously. So, I am very thankful for that. I have some mix and match pieces that will do well for church and a nice dinner out, but mostly casual things I can wear around the house and out grocery shopping. So, I guess I’m there. Time to start showing off the belly!

My favorite moment today was going over to Gretchen’s house to see Miss Elizabeth, who is 9 days old today. What a cutie!!! While we were there, I was standing up talking to Gretchen, and Marissa blurts out across the kitchen, “Oh My Gosh! You’re showing!” haha… So, that was the first time anyone besides me and Sean have really noticed that I’ve started the baby belly pooch.

Well, here we are at 9 weeks. Hard to believe that so much development is going on right now with our little baby. Here are a few of the things “mom” has been experiencing…

Weight gain and a disappearing waistline is the topic of the month. Oh yeah, that’s right! Currently, I am down to only two pairs of pants that I can wear, and with that, I have to stretch them out as much as possible before trying to zip them up. Maternity clothes shopping is in my near future. To amuse you further, I have quickly learned to keep a zip-lock bag of plain, sliced bread on my nightstand with a bottled water. Either I’m hit in the middle of the night with the worst nausea you’ve ever experienced or intense hunger pains that try to convince me that I haven’t eaten in days. This new bedside trick came after I had to wake Sean up at 4 a.m. to grab me club crackers and an ice cold water. Sorry honey!

I’ve learned the smell of the shredded parmesean cheese (in the green canister) is my worst nightmare, and just the smell of it will send me running to the bathroom. I also use to LOVE pickles, and now I cannot stand the smell nor taste of them. Way too salty all of the sudden! Taking a shower has become a huge accomplishment, and if I can put on my makeup and dry my hair without having to sit on a barstool from the kitchen, I’m having a REALLY good day. I have learned that the fatigue of pregnancy, along with the constant nausea, has completely changed my way of life for the time being. I can only run about two errands in one day, and if one of them is the grocery store, I should narrow it down to that one errand for the day. AND when grocery shopping, I will crave one thing while I’m there, and when I get home, I ask myself why I even bought that, and it sits in the freezer for weeks before I even think about wanting to eat it. That can make snacking a little challenging when you are hungry, yet don’t have anything in the house that looks good to you. Once I get home from the grocery store or any errands, I either need a nap or have to sit on the couch for an hour to recover. HGTV and TBS have become my best friends these days, since I’ve been so sick. You could soon hire me to redecorate your entire house, give you advice on how to decorate to sell your house faster, or recite the latest episodes of Everyone Loves Raymond or Seinfeld.

Megan and John have learned that in order to have dinner with me and Sean, they need to call me the day before or by lunch the same day. While I’ve been pregnant, I can handle only so much snacking until I have to have a real meal, and that usually falls around 4:30 p.m. Sean jokes with me that we should get the senior citizens discount eating that early.

The most frustrating thing to deal with has been the nausea. I have had to cancel more outings with friends, dinner with friends and staying home from church than I ever thought I would. To make it more frustrating, I joined the choir and volunteered to be our Sunday School class administrator just before we found out we were pregnant, so I’m sure those people would really appreciate me showing up more consistently. But when you’re hunched over in bed while green in the face, it makes the most common daily tasks very big challenges. Especially early mornings and late nights – that’s when it is the worst.

So, those are just a few of the funny (and some of the not so funny) pregnancy moments I have experienced thus far. I know it’s all going to be worth it in the end when we’re holding our little baby in our arms. And I know life will never be the same. Although it will be different, it will be BETTER! So, I guess I’m just in training, huh? More to come soon!