Yep, I'm still pregnant (40 weeks)

We had our 40 week appointment Friday and no changes to report.  I'm still not dilated, so we went ahead and scheduled an appointment for induction.  I have a regular doctors appointment Thursday morning where they'll do an ultrasound and then Thursday night we'll check into the hospital to start the induction process.  The doctor said they'll try a few things and if the induction is not successful then they'll offer me a c-section on Saturday.  So...we should have this bambino out of his cozy little cocoon by next Saturday night at the latest. 

In the mean time, we're just making the most of the time we have left alone together and spending time with friends as well.

Since I don't have much to update, I figured I'd document some of the details of my pregnancy by answering these pregnancy blog questions I found online:

Total weight gain: 34 pounds (I barely made it within the doc's recommendation of 25-35 lbs)

Maternity clothes: I started wearing my maternity jeans at 16 weeks.  I probably didn't need them then, but they were SOOO much more comfortable than regular jeans.  Being pregnant in summer was nice because I was able to wear maxi dresses for most of my pregnancy. 

Stretch marks: I didn't get any stretch marks on my belly, thankfully.  And I wasn't religous about putting cocoa butter on my belly either.  Thankful for good genes.  :)

Sleep: I'm a back sleeper, so adjusting to sleeping on my side was rough on my hips.  I probably change sides about 10+ times a night just to give each hip a rest.  And of course I have 4 pillows of my own to help make sleeping easier.  I'm sure Brian is looking forward to those disappearing once Owen gets here.

Miss anything: Right now I'm really missing running.  I ran up to about 37 weeks, but REALLY slow and had to walk in between my little bursts of running.  Looking forward to the day I'm cleared by my doctor so I can run Owen in the baby jogger by the river!

Movement: I started feeling him move around 22 weeks on my way home from the airport one night.  Coolest thing ever.  He's the most active at night. 

Food cravings: Fish tacos, waffles, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, and ANYTHING SWEET.  I think if it weren't for my sweet tooth I could have spared gaining a few of those 34 lbs. 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  I got nausea a few times in the first trimester, but was never sick and it went away like magic right when the second trimester started.

Labor signs: I started getting Braxton Hicks contractions around 32 weeks.  I WISH I had some labor signs to report now.  No such luck.

Belly button in or out: It's out!  I thought it would bother me when it started showing through clothes, but it is what it is.  I'm just glad it's not too huge. :)

Wedding rings on or off: My wedding rings still fit. 

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy 95% of the time.  I have had a couple emotional breakdowns, but nothing that lasted more than 10 minutes.  Haha.

Since this is my last pregnant week, I made a collage of the bump pictures (including the one for 40 weeks)

That's it!  I'll be back with the delivery story and baby Owen updates once I'm up to blogging again. :)

xoxo Jennelle & B

We're going to jump this baby out! (39 weeks)

So, as you may notice (since I'm here), the egglplant parm was a bust.  It was quite the experience though.  As you walk into the restaurant, you're greeted by 3 walls covered in baby photos.  These are babies that were allegedly born with 48 hours of their moms having the "magical" dish.  Baby Owen's picture will not be joining the wall.  If anything though, the experience made Brian realize that I'm a pretty pleasant pregnant person.  He mentioned to me that every other pregnant woman in there (and we counted 6) was noticably miserable.  

I had my 39 week appointment last Friday and the mid-wife ordered another ultrasound - for two reasons.  She said my belly was measuring small again and she wasn't sure if what she was feeling at the bottom of my belly was the baby's head or bottom.  In other words, she thought the baby might be breech.  Eek.  So, as I sat in the waiting room for my ultrasound, a million thoughts ran through my head.  I figured since this was the same lady (and only one ever) that ordered an ultrasound before because my belly was small, she must have a measuring problem.  So, I wasn't concerned about that.  My concern was about the breech part.  Up until this point I had been reassured week after week that he was head down.  How could he have possibly flipped in there?  There's no room!  I started thinking about the fact that I might have to have a c-section and although I would prefer to have the baby naturally, I got excited for a minute that IF we did have to have a c-section we'd be able to schedule it and BAM - there was a light at the end of this pregnancy tunnel.  Then I started thinking about how many of my friends have had c-sections recently and the pain they described, not to mention the prolonged recovery time and began re-thinking my excitement. 

The ultrasound went well.  Baby is not breech and everything looked good!  His new estimated weight was 7lbs 10oz based on the measurements during the ultrasound.  I know it's just an estimate, but if he's gaining 0.5 lbs every week, we need to get him out of there!  My next appointment is this Friday (40 weeks) and if baby doesn't come before then, we'll schedule some appointments to start inducing labor.  I was assured that I will not go over 41 weeks.  I would of course prefer labor to start naturally, but I'm not opposed to an intervention if it comes down to it. 

My friend Erin suggested borrowing her mini trampoline to help this process along.  Apparently jumping the baby out worked for her and while we were at dinner tonight, our friend Dana re-planted the idea in my head.  There's actually a trampoline "park" in Roswell where you can pay $14/hour to jump.  I thought that surely they have to have some liability policy stating that pregnant women aren't allowed in there, right?  Wrong.  I called them to let them know I was 40 weeks pregnant and wanted to jump the baby out and she told me to come on in!  So, guess what we're doing when Brian gets home from work tomorrow? :)  If it doesn't work, at least it's something fun to do while we're waiting for the little guy to arrive. 

That's all I have this week.  Here's my 39 week bump picture.  Hopefully I won't have a 40 week update. :)

 

xoxo - J&B

Ok...I'm ready. (38 weeks)

I think I'm about ready for this little bugger to come.  We still have 11 days, but I'm giving him a new due date of this weekend.  "They" say that about 50% of women go past their due date with their first baby, so I'm not holding my breath, but it sure would be nice.  I've been doing my own research and of the 9 women I've surveyed, only 1 went past their due date.  Hardly a scientific study, but it gives me hope. :)  My mom was part of my survey - she claims that I was born right on my due date and my brother was 3 weeks early.

If I can't go early, I'd at least like to go on time, PLEASE!!  I've been scouring the interwebs for advice on how to naturally induce labor and here's what I found:

• Drink 3 cups/day of Raspberry leaf tea - CHECK
• Go for a daily walk or run - CHECK
• Take 2000 mg of Evening Primrose Oil daily - CHECK (just got back from CVS with this stuff)
• Castor oil - not happening
• Eat pineapple, mango, or papaya - CHECK (we've gone through 3 pineapples in 2 weeks)
• Eggplant Parmesean from Scalini's Restaurant in Smyrna - date night scheduled for Saturday
• Dance - also not happening.  I don't have much rhythm and I think I'd feel like a fool dancing in my living room by myself.
• Go for a bumpy car ride - Really?!? Where does one find these bumps you speak of?

Here's to hoping these old wives tales are true!

I had my 38 week doctor's appointment last Friday.  I actually saw MY doctor for the first time since I've been pregnant.  Weird, huh?  He's definitely my favorite one in the entire practice and if I was guaranteed that he would deliver, I would have made all of my appointments with him.  Since we're being delivered by a mid-wife, I wanted to make sure we met all of them.  To be honest, I don't really care who delivers the baby, as long as they get him out safely. 

Anyway, back to the doctor's appointment.  Owen's heart rate was 130 bpm, which is normal and he's still head down.  He said I'm starting to dilate, but he can't officially call it 1cm yet  He also said that my body is doing what it needs to be doing - whatever that means.  I think he was just trying to make me feel better.  I asked him if he could estimate the weight of the baby and after feeling around my belly he confidently said "I'm feeling about 6 lbs and a few ounces.  You'll probably have a 7 pounder."  That measurement technique seems about as accurate as the technique they use to determine how dilated you are. 

In other news, a friend of mine came out to do maternity pictures for me two weeks ago.  I really love how the photos turned out and we had so much fun.  We went to the Chanel counter at the mall to have my makeup done that morning, did some shooting at the house that afternoon and the rest of the shots at the Roswell Mill when Brian got home.  Brian was a little cranky when he first got home from work, but he warmed up after a few photos.  Here are a couple pics that I didn't already put on facebook.  I promised Brian I wouldn't publish the bare belly pic on facebook, but I think it's hilarious, so I had to put it on here.  So, you picture grabbers (you know who you are)...no copying and pasting that one anywhere. :)

Not much left on the baby to-do list this week - I started packing the hospital bag, so I just need to finish that up.  And I may make a couple meals to freeze so we have them the first week or so when we're home from the hospital and probably won't feel like cooking.  I was in super nesting mode last week.  I cleaned the entire house, did all of the laundry, and cleaned out the fridge, freezer, and pantry.  The only thing left to do is clean the base boards.

That's it for this week.  I'll be back next week with another update!

xoxo, Jennelle and B

Aren't you just miserable? (37 weeks)

Now that I'm in my last month of pregnancy, I'm noticing an increase in comments like - "aren't you just miserable?", "I'm sure you're getting no sleep at night", and my favorite - "how much weight have you gained?"  I almost feel guilty telling people that I feel great and I'm sleeping well at night.  It seems like once you've experienced the miracle of growing a baby in your belly, you're in this elite club and you have the right to tell pregnant women how difficult pregnancy and child rearing is going to be.  I know every pregnancy is different and I can only hope that I'm as lucky with the next one.

The weight gain has probably been the most difficult part for me.  As women we feel pressure to keep our weight in check our entire lives, so I've felt a little out of control the past 9 months.  I just have to keep reminding myself that in only a few short weeks I can start working at getting my body back.  The funniest thing has been when complete strangers inquire about my weight gain.  It's happened more than I expected and I actually had a man ask me once.  He's one of the trainers at the gym so maybe he thinks because of his profession it's ok to ask a hormonal woman how fat they've become.  When he told me that his wife only gained 14 lbs with her first child, I chose to keep my mouth shut because the only response that came to mind was "your wife is a b*$&%".  Not very nice, Jennelle.  I guess if you only gained 14 lbs, you should have bragging rights, but as someone who gained a lot more than 14, I don't want to hear about it.  Haha.

So, we're finally considered full term!  That means that all of Baby O's organs are fully developed and ready for the outside world.  Only 19 more days until our due date and the days are going by pretty quickly.  I keep saying I'm ready, but I still have a couple more things to do.  It just occurred to me this past week that I haven't really come up with a plan for who is going to take on my work responsibilities while I'm out.  That's kind of a big thing that I need to figure out this week.  And my mid-wife told me to pack my hospital bag, so that's on the to-do list this week as well.

Other than that, I'm just getting super excited for fall.  It's starting to annoy Brian a bit because it's still hot outside and I'm starting to prepare fall-type dinners.  I can't help myself.  I think fall is my favorite time of year.  Baby O is going to be a pumpkin for Halloween this year.  Given that he will be 4 weeks old and unable to trick or treat or consume candy for that matter, we have plans to sit in the driveway, drink beers, and hand out candy with our neighbors, Dana and Ben. 

Well, that's all I have this week!  I'll post a bump picture next week.

xo J and B

It's Baby Mac Month! (36 weeks)

We had a nice Labor Day weekend, but I'm not going to lie...it would have been nice if it was my labor day weekend. :)  I'm ready for this little nugget to get here.  I probably need to stop thinking about it though because with my luck he'll be making his appearance fashionably late.  I really can't complain too much because i've had a fairly easy pregnancy.

Now that we're 36 weeks along, we'll start having doctor's appointments every week.  Our appointment last Friday went well.  Baby O is still head down and his heart rate was right around 140 bpm, which is normal, so we're in good shape.  Our next appointment is this Friday.

We've been staying busy around here.  My hiatus from travel has been nice - it's allowed me to get into a better eating / exercising routine and I think since I've been home Brian's consumption of pizza has decreased.  I've been able to get back to my barre classes which has been great because all of the stretching and strengthening has really helped reduce my lower back pain and the swelling in my feet and ankles.  Not to mention my arms feel less blubbery. 

I'll probably be taking the next week or so off of running because I sprain my ankle somehow.  Ok...I think I know how.  Brian and I took the dogs down to the river for a walk this past weekend and since it was hot, I was trying to get Trixie close to the water to see if she would go in.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice how muddy the bank was, but I kept on toward the water anyway.  My feet slipped from under me, I fell on my back and slid a good 5 feet.  In. The. Mud.  Brian had to make the 1 mile walk of shame back to the car with his muddy pregnant wife.  Other than my ankle, baby and I are fine - the mud cushioned my fall.   :)

My friend, Linda, is doing maternity photos for me this week, so I'm super excited about that.  It would have been smart to maybe do them a little earlier when I didn't feel so huge.  I told her that she may have to photoshop a leg or arm here or there.  Hopefully I'll have a couple to post in next week's blog.

That's all I have this week.  Brian and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary last Friday, so here's my fancy 36 week bump picture before we went out to eat.

Love,
B and J

5 more to go! (35 weeks)

It's crazy to think that in about 5 weeks this little guy will be here.  I went to Minneapolis to visit my friend Heather and her new baby a couple weeks ago and the visit made me realize how much our life is going to change.  I think the biggest realization I had was that it's not easy to just pick up and go when you have a little one.  Don't get me wrong, of course I'm looking forward to it, but at the same time I want to make sure Brian and I are enjoying every moment we have together alone the next few weeks because it won't be long until we're a family of 3!

We got some more stuff checked off the list last week.  We interviewed pediatricians and found one that we like.  I've been doing a lot of reading and research on vaccinating and based on what I've found we'll probably end up opting out of some vaccines and following a delayed schedule vs. the one the CDC recommends and maybe not vaccinating at all - we're not 100% sure yet.  So, vaccinations was one of our main discussion points during our interviews with the pediatricians.  I feel good that we've found a practice that will support whatever decision we make.

Brian's work had a surprise baby shower for him last Friday (so cool, huh?).  I guess that's one of the perks of working for a company that makes kid stuff.  Our friend Katie called me the Wednesday before to invite me, so it was nice to be able to go.  And surprisingly enough, I was able to keep the secret.  I'm glad she didn't give me anymore than a 2 day notice. :)  We received a few more things from our registry and a gift card to Babies R Us which we used to get the car seat.  I think we have all the essentials!  Now we just need a baby.  Here's a picture of B opening presents at his man shower.

No big plans for the weekend.  We're running a 5K with the dogs tomorrow morning and then heading to the farmer's market to get some local fruits and veggies.  Then I plan to put my swollen feet up and relax for the rest of the weekend. :)

Here is a 34 week bump picture.  I haven't taken the 35 week one yet, so I'll post it next week! 

Oh..and i thought I'd share this product I happened upon while I was shopping for baby stuff.  What a brilliant idea!  We're definitely going to be investing in some of these to avoid being peed on while changing diapers.  Haha.

Have a great weekend!  xoxo

Jennelle and Brian

It's been awhile... (33 weeks)

Yikes...I didn't realize it had been over 4 weeks since I had posted anything.  What a slacker I am.  We've been pretty busy the last few weeks, so I have lots of updates!

We're in week 34, only 7 more to go!  The countdown is officially 47 days.  Owen has been moving around a lot.  I've noticed that he's most active around 9-10 PM.  His movements have changed from fast kicks to more of a slow motion rolling.  And his newest trick is hiccuping, which is sometimes cool, but not really when I'm trying to sleep!  I've also started having Braxton Hicks contractions in the past few weeks and really noticing them in the past week or so.  They don't hurt, so it's nothing to worry about - just my body preparing I guess. 

We had our 32 week appointment last week.  Brian hasn't been able to go to the last few appointments because of work meetings, but he went to this one and I'm really glad he was there.  When the midwife measured me she said my belly was measuring small so she ordered an ultrasound.  Of course I was worried, but B was excited that we got to see the little guy again.  Everything is fine - it could have just been the way he was positioned.  The ultrasound tech said that according to his measurements, he's 4lbs, 4oz and he has long legs.  Glad he didn't get my stubs.  :)  At this point, his weight and measurements are within the 40-50th percentile.  She also went on and on about how cute his face was.  Brian and I think he kind of looks like an alien with sunglasses on.

We've been taking lots of classes at the hospital in preparation for the little guy.  We've completed the Childbirth, Baby Essentials, Nursing, and Dogs and Babies classes.  Our last class is Infant CPR this week.  We're on information overload, but we've definitely learned some helpful things from each class.  There are so many decisions to make about how you're going to care for and raise the baby.  And everyone has a different opinion - even the nurses teaching the classes have a difficult time being objective.  It can be tricky weeding through the facts and opinions, but as a result of our classes, Brian is now an expert swaddler (see photo below) and we feel better about how we're going to manage the interactions between Owen and the dogs. 

My friends threw me a lovely baby shower this weekend in Atlanta and Aunt Kris threw one for me a couple of weekends ago in Michigan.  We received so many nice gifts for Baby O!  He's spoiled already. :)  I've posted a few pictures from the showers below.

At the Michigan Shower.  This cake was AMAZING.  Half banana cake, half raspberry. 

 

Family at the Michigan Shower.

 

Owen's "Grammy" and I. :) 

 

Some of the girls and I at the Georgia Shower. 

 

The shower Hostesses (Sarah, Dana, and Heather) and I.

Just a few more things on my checklist before he gets here and now that I'm not traveling for work anymore for the rest of the pregnancy, I'll have some time in the evenings to get stuff done.  We're interviewing pediatricians this week and I'm determined to figure out the daycare situation this week as well.  We're on a waiting list at a place nearby, but it looks like we'll have to figure something else out until they have space.  Other than that, I just need to finish the nursery and wash all of the bedding and clothes.  That's the fun part. :) 

I don't have a bump picture for all of the weeks I missed, so I posted the two I have.  :)

30 week bump in a hotel room in LA

 

33 week bump

 

That's all I've got for now!  I'll try to do more frequent updates since I'm not traveling anymore!

xoxo,

Jennelle and B

The 3rd Trimester (28.5 weeks)

I finally entered the 3rd trimester...we're in the home stretch!  I feel like I've been pregnant forever, so I'm ready for these next 11 weeeks to fly by.  Baby Owen is about 2.25 lbs and it seems to me that he's running out of room in there.  Living is starting to get less and less comfortable as each week passes.

Here's a list of things that I recently can no longer do:

• Sleep on my back.  So I wake up with sore hips.
• Bend over to put my shoes on
• Squeeze through tight spaces
• Eat raw oysters.  This has really been bothering me because I've been taking so many work trips out to the West Coast.
• Shave my legs
• Eat a regular sized meal.  I'm full after 2 bites.
• Run 1 mile without having to pee
• Sleep through the night without having to pee (5 times)
• Update my blog without having to pee

I'm finding that there are perks though.  The more my belly sticks out, the nicer strangers are to me.  I notice this at the airport mostly.  On my last flight home from California, I caught the flight attendant look down at my belly.  She smiled and said "if you need ANYTHING, please let me know".  I should have taken advantage of that and asked for a seat change to first class.  On my trip this week some guy offered to help me find my gate and people were helping me put my luggage up and take it down from the overhead bin.  I find in general that people just smile more at pregnant me.  It's refreshing. 

We have an exciting few weeks coming up with lots of baby stuff planned!  This Saturday we have childbirth class at the hospital.  It's an 8 hour class, so I'm expecting to be fully prepared mentally for this whole birthing thing.  I'll let you know how it goes. 

Next weekend I'm co-hosting a baby shower for my close friend, Lindsey.  And the weekend after is our first baby shower in Michigan!  I'm really excited to go home, see family, and celebrate baby Owen with everyone.  Then my Georgia shower is two weeks later.  Lots of fun stuff to look forward to. 

Since I'm behind on my posts (again), I attached a couple bump pictures below:

The one above is at 27 weeks and the one below is 28 weeks. 

 

 

And the last picture is my best friend, Heather's precious new baby girl!  She was born Monday.  Her name is India Eve and she was 8lbs 7oz.  I've been dying to talk to Heather and I think I finally get a phone date with her tonight!  :) 



Gotta run!  More updates next week after child birth class!

xoxo

Jennelle & Brian

We have a name! (26.5 weeks)

I'm about two weeks behind on my posts, but better late than never!  We had a couple of busy weekends and I was in California last week for work, so I feel like we've been going non-stop.

My parents were in town last weekend and we had a nice visit.  The only time we ever do anything touristy in Atlanta is when they're in town, so this trip we took them down to the Botanical Gardens.  It was really pretty.  They had an edible garden that put my little garden to shame.  But it might inspire me to plant more stuff next year - like eggplant and cucumbers maybe.  We'll see.  We planted a bunch of peppers this year - jalapenos, habaneros, and banana peppers.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all of these peppers.  Let me know if you need some!

Mom and Dad are super excited about becoming grandparents for the first time.  My mom says she still can't believe she's old enough to be a Grandma.  I keep reminding her that I'll be 32 this year and that she's plenty old enough to be a Grandma. :)

Onto baby updates...So, as the title of this blog post suggests, Brian and I have decided on a name!  Before I tell you what it is, I just want you to know that picking a name was not as easy as I thought it might be.  Brian goes with the flow most of the time, but he had some very strong opinions about what baby Mac's name shouldn't be.  He never really came up with a list of names, but he wasn't shy about crossing names off of my list!  We probably went through a good 100+ names before landing on this one - Owen Maxwell McDonald.  The origin of Owen is Irish and it's meaning is "young fighter".  That's what the internet says anyway (which by the way has no bearing on why we chose it).  Young fighter is accurate though - when he's awake he seems to be using my insides as a punching bag.  Unfortunately he's been awake lately when I'm trying to fall asleep!

Here's the weekly bump picture.  This week baby Owen is about 14.5 inches long and weighs about 2 pounds.  Leaves me to wonder why I need the other 14 pounds that I've gained.  :) 

As for the nursery update, we haven't accomplished too much since the last post, but I feel good that we have the basics completed.  The crib mattress and changing pad came last week.  I just need to figure out what I'm going to put on the walls.  We have one wall taken care of - Brian put these shelves up for me.  Something I saw on Pinterest - I love that site!

Oh..and I've experienced a new symptom of pregnancy starting last week.  It's called "pregnancy brain" and basically what happens is that pregnant women do and say stupid things and tend to forget things that they normally remember.  My first episode occurred last week when I tried to use dish soap in the dish washer...twice.  When I discovered the suds, I yelled for Brian to help me and instead of coming to my rescue with towels, he ran upstairs to grab his phone so he could take a picture.  Very helpful.  Thanks babe. 

Well, that's about all of the excitement we have going on here.  I'll get back on track with my posts next Monday! 

Have a nice week.  Xoxo, Jennelle and Brian

Six months down (24 weeks)

Well, we passed the 6 month mark....4 more months to go!  We had a doctor's appointment on Friday, just a check up.  The nurse told me that since I was 24 weeks along, I could do my glucose test that day.  I gave her a run down of what I had eaten for breakfast (3 chicken minis, hasbrowns, and a Grande Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks) and told her I'd prefer to wait.  I would have failed that thing for sure. 

Everything else at the appointment went well.  My belly measured a normal size, weight gain is right on track with where they want it, and the baby's heartbeat was right around 150 bpm.  I think the nurse midwife got a sense of how often I eat chick-fil-a in the mornings and she told me I need to cool it on my chicken minis.  I literally cannot drive past a chick-fil-a in the morning without stopping.  It lures me in.  You know you have a problem when you have to take alternate routes in the morning to avoid a Chick-fil-a.

After work on Friday, I stopped by my friend, Stacie's house to pick up some baby items that her son has outgrown.  She's very sweet.  She gave us a Baby Bjorn, some clothing, toys, and a diaper genie.  The diaper genie will probably go in the garage.  I've put some thought into this and I don't think I want to store poop in the house.  I might cave in after a few hundred trips up and down the stairs to dispose of diapers, but we'll at least try it in the garage to start.  She gave me a tutorial on how to wear the Baby Bjorn, so I tried it on Brian when I got home.  Doesn't he look so cute? :)

Saturday morning we did a tour of the hospital.  Baby Mac will be born at Northside Hospital in Sandy Springs.  They deliver more babies every year than any other hospital in the country.  I was concerned that it might feel like a baby factory, but it didn't.  It's a really nice place.  The labor, devliery, and recovery building is totally detached from the rest of the hospital.  The rooms are a decent size and it was surprisingly quiet and calm in there.  I'm not sure why, but I was expecting chaos.  We have a good idea now of where we have to go and what to expect when getting to the hospital. 

 Between hanging out with friends, running errands, and playing golf this weekend, Brian was able to get the first coat of paint on the dresser for the nursery.  The plan is to have that painted by the end of the week.  At some point today, I need to go exchange the knobs I bought for the dresser (for the third time).  I might be the most indecisive person in the world.  We bought a bookshelf for the nursery a couple weeks ago and I've actually sold it to a friend already.  The glider arrived last week and I realized that there's not going to be room for everything, so we'll do book shelves on the wall instead.  At least we got an early start on the room!  Here are a couple pictures from the nursery - the crib, glider, and the closet organizer.  I'll post more pictures as the nursery comes together.  There's still lots to do!

 

I ordered a couple of the basic nursery bedding items - crib skirt, fitted sheet and changing pad cover.  As you can see, I've got the skirt on the crib already. :)  I'm still searching for a good organic crib mattress, so once we have that i'll post a picture with the sheet. 

 

 

You're probably wondering why in the world I ordered a white glider.  Part of it goes back to me being indecisive.  The other thing to note here is that it's a slip cover, so i can throw it in the washer if it gets dirty.

 

 

And this is my favorite part so far (probably because of the effort that went into installing it).  Brian and I put it in last weekend.  It was a little more challenging than they make you believe in the store.  I can't wait to get all of his little stuff organized in this closet. 

 

More nursery photos to come in the upcoming weeks!

 

My parents are coming this weekend, so we probably won't be doing much nursery work, but we'll see.  When I asked my Mom what they wanted to do when they're here, she said "relax".  They're both retired...that's all they do is relax. :)  We'll probably go to the Botanical Gardens one day and then maybe while they're relaxing the rest of the time, we can get some more work on the room done.

 

Here's my 24 week bump picture.  I feel like I'm growing at an incredible pace.  Brian assures me that I'm still beautiful, which is very sweet of him because some days I feel like a whale.  He did tell me the other day that he can't wait until I start waddling.  How nice.

 

 

Hope you all have a nice week!  xoxo Jennelle & Brian

Our little spaghetti squash (23 weeks)

We're officially 23 weeks along and the bump is getting bigger every day!  Baby Mac now weighs about 1 lb and is about 11 inches long.  The vegetable he is being compared to this week is a spaghetti squash.  I wonder who ever thought of comparing a baby to a vegetable?

My cravings have been pretty consistent the past few weeks - fruit, waffles, and fish tacos.  Oh and the newest craving is beer.  Thank goodness for non-alcoholic beer.  I always wondered who drank that stuff.  Now I know.  I suppose I shouldn't leave out the Chick-Fil-A craving - Baby Mac loves him some chicken minis and hashbrowns. 

Overall I can't complain about how I've felt.  I did have some nausea that completely disappeared after the first trimester.  And other than feeling heavier than normal and having some occasional lower back pain, I've been feeling great.  I did read that maintaining an exercise routine can help reduce the aches and pains, so I've continued my running (at a much slower pace) and I've been doing barre classes.  If anything, it helps me justify the frequent desserts. :)

We've been slowly chipping away at the nursery and have plans to do more work on it this weekend.  Brian finished painting this week.  I'm concerned that the grey we chose has some purple undertones. Brian says no, but I think that's just because he doesn't want to re-paint.  Maybe he's right and I'm just seeing things.  He wouldn't let our baby boy have a purple room, right?!?! 

We've got most of the furniture for the nursery.  Brian's parents bought our crib for us and that arrived on Tuesday!  Hopefully we can get that put together this weekend and I'll post pictures next week.  We're going to try to get the closet organization system in this weekend as well.  And the glider we ordered is being delivered on Monday.  It's all coming together.  I'm trying to get it done in the 2nd trimester since I hear that the fatigue will kick back in during the 3rd trimester.

I ran a 5k this morning in Virginia Highlands (which is a really cute area in Atlanta).  It was probably one of the most beautiful 5k courses I've ever run.  Brian missed this one because he pulled his hamstring a few weeks ago and he's still recovering, but he was still there to cheer me on.  We made a New Years resolution to run a 5k (or some type of road race) every month this year.  Between his injuries, my growing belly, and being rained out for the May 5k, we're not going to make it.  But I'm determined to do as many as I can.  I figure if that lady who ran the Chicago marathon and gave birth right after the race could do it, I can certainly do a few 5ks up until it's time to pop. 

There were a ton of parents with jogging strollers at the race today - I started counting them, but lost count after 25. It always motivates me to run faster when I see someone pushing another human along. My rule is that I can't let old people or people with strollers pass me.

The next race we have on our calendar is the Peachtree Road Race.  It's a 10k on July 4th - a huge Atlanta tradition and the biggest 10k in the US.  There were about 60,000 runners last year.  Hopefully Brian will be fully recovered and can at least run/walk it with me.  Can't wait for the day we can run Baby Mac in his first road race!

So, I know I said I wasn't going to purchase anymore baby clothes before the showers, but I couldn't resist when I saw this online (and I knew Brian wouldn't be mad).  This is Baby Mac's first Michigan State outfit.  And I was right...Brian was very excited to see this come in the mail today. :) 

That's all I've got for today.  I'll post some nursery pictures next week!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

xoxo  Jennelle & Brian

A much needed long weekend (22 weeks)

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  This long weekend couldn't have come at a better time.  My week in New Jersey drained me and it was topped off with a 10 hour day at the airport Thursday trying to make it home.  I finally made it home around midnight Thursday and I think the baby was just as happy as I was to be home.  As soon as I laid down, he started kicking and flipping around in my belly.  He was really busy in there last week...the most active he's been since I've been able to feel him.

We have lots of fun planned for the weekend!  We're grilling with our friends, Dana and Ben tonight.  They're in the process of buying a house that is literally 3 doors down from us and we couldn't be more excited.  Dana and I think that we need to have a sit down meeting with the boys to enforce some rules before they move in.  More to come on this after said meeting occurs.

Brian is golfing tomorrow morning and I'm going to treat myself to a prenatal massage.  Then my hippie feet and I are going to get a pedicure.  Tomorrow evening we're grilling out with friends in Roswell, Cessy and Dave.  They have an adorable little 2 year old (Peyton) who is obsessed with Brian...so cute.  And they're expecting another little one two weeks after we're due.

And Monday we're heading over to Erin and Joey's for a pool day!  They're also expecting a little boy about 4 weeks before we're due.  It's fun having so many friends pregnant at the same time.  Misery loves company.  Haha.

Busy weekend!  And on top of all that - Brian started painting the nursery today.  He informed me that I was not allowed to help.  And not because of the paint fumes being harmful to Baby Mac, but because he "knows how crappy of a painter I am".  Love him.

Here's my week 22 belly picture as promised.  I've managed to gain 13 lbs so far.  I wish I could say that it's all in my belly, but it appears to have distributed itself evenly.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!  xoxo

Hands off my belly, lady! (21.5 weeks)

As you know, Brian and I are expecting our first baby in September!  I wish we would have started this blog earlier, but better late than never.  Since we're so far away from a lot you (our family and close friends), we figured this would be a good way to provide updates on "Baby Mac".

We found out a few weeks ago that we're having a boy!  Brian can attest to the fact that this unborn child of ours owns more clothing than I do already.  That's one of the dangers of finding out the gender before birth I guess.  I just can't get over how cute ALL of the clothing at Baby Gap is.  For the record, I've ceased purchasing anymore clothing until after the showers. :)

So, this week I'm in New Jersey for work.  I'm only able to travel for 9 more weeks, so I'm trying to fit all of my visits in before I'm put on a ground stop.  It's been an interesting week here so far.  I come up here often, so the team at the Distribution Center has gotten to see my baby bump grow.  Today, one of the ladies that I don't typically interact with discovered my pregnant belly and did the unthinkable - she said "oh, there's a baby in there" and started petting my belly.  While it's taken me a little while to get used to people I know touching my belly (which I'm now ok with by the way) - a perfect stranger is a different story.  I read an article awhile back to prepare me for this very thing.  The article suggested such things as petting their belly back or asking them to buy you dinner before they feel you up.  I did neither.  I just froze, smiled, and slowly backed away.  My goal for the remainder of the pregnancy is to NOT be touched by any more strangers.  5 hours down, 19 weeks to go!

I posted some of our ultrasound pictures below so you can see how much Baby Mac has grown over the weeks.  He's gone from looking like a gummy bear to resembling a small human.  It's a crazy feeling to know that this little guy is growing in my belly.

The one above is from our 8 week ultrasound.  It was so cool seeing him for the first time.  This was the first time we had been to the doctor since finding out we were pregnant, so it was a huge relief to know that everything with the pregnancy was progressing normally.

This next one is from the 12 week ultrasound. It's crazy how much he grew in only 4 weeks!

And this one is from our 20 week (and final) ultrasound.  As long as there aren't any complications, they won't do anymore ultrasounds.

Well, that's all I have for today.  I'll be back in the next couple of days with a week 22 update and belly picture!

xoxo