25 Week Picture

Here's me at 25 Weeks. You can see that we now have a crib! Some of our friends gave us a crib, changing table/dresser, stroller and swing. The baby's room is starting to fill up! It's exciting to have baby stuff in the room finally! It's motivated me a little bit to start working on the room. I think that'll be a nice project to fill up those weeks in between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We leave Thursday for South Carolina. It should be a great weekend and we get to see a lot of Kirk's friends and family and have our first baby shower! I'm so excited! Then we'll be home for 4 days before heading to Chicago. By the time we get back from there it'll be December! Time is flying by!

24 Weeks

We went to the doctor this morning and had a great appointment! I always get nervous before going to the doctor. I'm not sure why, I think it's just a fear of them telling me something is wrong. The baby's heartbeat was nice and strong - we both love being able to hear that! Kirk was talking about stealing the thing they use to hear the heartbeat so we could hear it whenever we want. The doctor said my dates all look good and that I'm measuring about a half week ahead of my due date. My favorite part was when he told Kirk that rubbing my back would help with my back pain, so now I can tell Kirk that it's doctors orders that he does that! We got the go ahead to drive to Chicago later this month - we just have orders to stop every hour and a half for a couple minutes for me to stretch my legs to prevent blood clots. It sounds like a lot of stopping, but with the baby kicking me in the bladder so much - we'd probably be stopping about that often anyways.

Our friends who are giving us a bunch of baby stuff are bringing the crib and some other things to us this Saturday, so we can start working on the nursery. I think getting the crib, plus knowing the baby showers are coming us is motivating me to start on the nursery. I'm getting excited to get everything ready for her! Anyone have any creative do-it-yourself nursery decoration ideas? We can't paint, so we have to be creative.

We are pretty sure we've decided on a first name for her but are still working on a middle name. We aren't telling anyone the name though...we want to keep that a secret until she comes. We truly value everyone's opinions and advice...we just don't want to hear them about the name choice! :o) Don't worry - it's a good name - nothing weird!

I know I keep saying it - but I'm so excited to go to South Carolina and Chicago this month. Because of the baby showers and Thanksgiving - we seriously get to see almost all of our friends and relatives! I can't wait!

I'll post a new belly picture once I remember to take one! I'm not so good at remembering things right now...

November

I am so excited that it's finally November. There are so many good things happening this month!

• A trip to South Carolina.
• Our first baby shower - with Kirk's family and friends.
• A trip home to Chicago! (Not excited about a 16+ hour car ride while 6 months pregnant, but we gotta get there somehow!)
• Our second baby shower - with my family and our Illinois friends
• My youngest sister's 21st birthday
• Thanksgiving! (which means all the sweet potatoes I can eat!)
• Matt and Sarah's wedding! I can't wait to celebrate with them!
• Going to see Lion King with Jen and Adrian
• eating Portillos! (you're not supposed to eat hot dogs while pregnant, but I am making the exception for a Portillos hot dog while I'm home. I haven't had Portillos since June - there is NO way I can resist!)
• Getting to go to our old church FCCC! We miss everyone there so much and can't wait to see the warehouse all finished!
• The new Harry Potter moving comes out so I get to see it with my sister Carrie!
• I can start listening to Christmas music!

Seriously - what a great (and busy) month!

The baby is growing and I am starting to show a little bit. (I'll post another belly picture later this week) I definitely don't look what I thought I would look like at 5 months pregnant, but it's ok. We go to the doctor on Thursday so hopefully we'll get another positive report on baby girl. I've been having a lot of back pain and get tired so easily, but that's ok. It's all part of it and it'll be worth it. I also am currently craving apple juice (but it has to be ice cold and a little watered down) and we should have never, ever brought home candy from the Fall Fest at church. I don't have the will power and keep taking a piece every time I walk past the bowl. I know I could move the bowl to someplace where I can't see it or reach it...but let's be honest, I don't think that will stop me!

Weekend

Kirk's parents came to visit this weekend. This was the first time we've seen them since we told them we were pregnant so some baby stuff was definitely on the to do list for the weekend. We spent a good amount of time at the baby stores at the outlet mall looking at all the cute clothes. We discovered that Kirk is going to be way more of a sucker for buying cute baby clothes than I am! He was really sweet about it...he only would buy stuff with soft fabrics b/c he didn't want anything to be uncomfortable on her. We got a few really cute things but tried not to go overboard since we have showers still and a few more months before we need clothes! Kirk's mom and dad also bought us the crib mattress as a shower gift, so it's nice to have that. We don't have a crib yet, but are getting one soon. Some of Kirk's close friends are being super generous and giving us a bunch of their old baby stuff, the crib being one of those things. We also got a 2 packages of diapers. I guess it's good to stock up early on those! We had a great time with them and I definitely wore myself out!

We also got our Christmas gift from his parents early. A new couch! We feel like grown ups because it's literally the only piece of furniture in our living and dining rooms that isn't from IKEA! Not that I don't love IKEA, but I feel like we have a real piece of furniture now! Our other couch is a 2 seater, so it's nice to have a couch you can actually lay down on.

I'm still feeling pretty good. I did manage to somehow hurt my back while putting groceries away today. I think I just pulled a muscle in my lower back, so I'm currently enjoying a pain that starts in my lower back and goes all the way down my right hip and down my leg a little. I'm not sure if those muscles actually connect to my hurt back muscle - but somehow the pain made its way down there. I'm hoping that the pain eases up sooner than later.

We are going to South Carolina November 11-13 to see Kirk's family and have our first baby shower. We are both really excited about the weekend. Kirk's brother and sister in law will be there so we get to see them and our 2 nieces as well, which will be great! We haven't been able to see them in a while!

We're less than a month away from our trip to Chicago. I can't wait! I'm counting down the days!

This week will be 23 weeks...only 17 weeks left to go, if she comes on her due date! Which if any of you knew my grandpa and grandma...she probably will be born on time, it's in her genes! :o)

22 Weeks

Here's the first picture, I'm about 22 weeks. I actually don't even look as pregnant as I do in the picture...I have to put my hands like that and stick my belly out a little to even make it look like that. Oh well! According the to update I get emailed every week, Baby Tate is the size of a papaya, weighs about a pound, and is about 7-8 inches look. She is also starting to be able to hear our voices. I can feel her moving around, but no strong kicks or jabs yet.

Issues

I'm having a slight issue with clothes right now. I'm 22 weeks prego and not really showing yet. I definitely am getting bigger, I just don't have a cute baby bump. I just kinda look chubby.

But here's my issue. I don't fit in my normal pants anymore but maternity pants are too big. I was wearing my normal jeans with a rubber band around the button and thru the button hole since I couldn't button them, but that's not working anymore. So I tried using the belly band (basically an tube top that you wear around your waist to hold up pants you can't button anymore, but that's not really working since I don't have enough of a baby bump to hold my pants up. So I am trying maternity pants, but again, there's not enough of a bump to hold them up. Maybe this is just an excuse to wear my super comfortable black sweatpants everywhere :o)

I realize that no one really cares about my problems with this, but not much else is going on so I didn't have much else to write about. I can still feel Baby Tate moving around in there. I've been pretty uncomfortable as my body is adjusting to make room for baby. It gets painful at times but I guess it's all part of the deal.

I'm also hoping my nesting instinct kicks in soon since currently the baby's room looks more like a storage closet. There are suitcases everywhere, my wedding dress is in there as well as the couple of boxes we haven't unpacked yet. We should be getting the crib that some friends are giving us soon, maybe that will motivate me a little!

20 Weeks

At 20 weeks pregnant we are officially halfway there! That feels weird considering I still don't really even look pregnant! I am close to having to switch to maternity pants but not quite there yet. My normal jeans fit fine still...with the addition of a rubber band holding the button closed. Classy, huh? Thankfully I got a big box full of maternity clothes from Christina Jackson and last night at church Mary Hope filled the backseat of my car with some more. Thanks so much to both of them for giving those to me! I hate spending money on clothes and even more so on clothes I will only wear for a few months.

We went to the doctor today and everything looks good. The regular appointments are so quick. I get weighed, they check my blood pressure, sit and wait for the doctor, hear the baby's heartbeat, get measured and that's it. I think the doctor was in there for under a minute becuase the nurse had already answered the couple questions I had.

I have been feeling flutters from the baby for about a week or two. She's starting to move more and a little more powerfully! Kirk was able to feel her move for the first time the other day. She's much more active at night. Although music seems to make her move a lot. I am also starting to have more food cravings. Nothing weird, mostly sweets and everyonce in a while, buffalo chicken wings. I usually just try and wait them out and see if it'll pass. I also cry. A lot. For no reason. Poor Kirk.

We are finally feeling like it's fall here...well I guess by that it means we're finally below 90 degrees. We've even had a few cooler nights (high 40-50's). People here called that cold. That made me laugh a little. 50 degrees is not cold! :o) I really love fall. Pumpkins, hot cocoa, apple cider, pretty leaves, football, Thanksgiving and lots more. And now that it's October...I can say I'm going home next month! :o)