Week 17 - Let the Nesting Begin!

Something happened inside me this week that was as quick as flipping on a light switch.  I wanted to start getting the house ready for the baby, and I wanted it to happen now.  The mental check list began as I thought about all the things we wanted to get for the house.  Most people would think, you just need to get a crib and changing table and call it a day.  However, we have had a friend living with us for the past 7 months and her furniture was filling in the spaces where we were lacking.  We purchased a home that we could ‘grow’ into overtime.  Well, I’m ready to have a growth spurt.

 

My Living Room 'Inspiration' Photo

Since we don’t know the gender yet, I thought the first place I would start is the living room.  I spent each night after work visiting every website imaginable looking for living room ideas.  For the past 11 years Logan and I have enjoyed using hand me downs from relatives.  I call our family room furniture the ‘divorce collection’ because when my parents ended their marriage I am pretty sure my dad just went to rooms to go, asked for the new bachelor special and they wrapped it up.  While there is nothing wrong with second hand furniture and it has been a life saver when we were living paycheck to paycheck, I was excited to pick something out that is actually my style and taste.

 

Then Logan threw me a curve ball.  After spending endless hours crafting my dream living room, Logan shared with me that he has to have a recliner.  He was putting his foot down.  He will have a chair that he can kick up his feet in, lounge back and preferably also have a cup holder to keep his beer in.  Lazy Boy wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for my first decorated adult living space.  Back to the drawing board.  As luck would have it, Pottery Barn must have known that this problem arises in marriages because they make the perfect compromise couch.  It had the fabric and color that I was looking for but also happens to have a built in recliner that is discrete enough for me, but functional for Logan.  Because I ordered it online, I haven’t sat in it yet.  Fingers crossed that it is as comfy as it looks.

 

The compromise couch

 

After the couch purchase was done, I became anxious to get everything else on order.  I’d love to have the living room fully functional before the end of November so that the rest of the year can be focused on BB’s space.  Logan, being the amazing husband that he is, could sense my anxiety.  (I’m sure I was laying it on pretty thick.)  We had a free Saturday and he suggested that we spend the day furniture shopping.  What?  My husband who hates everything about malls and crowded spaces, and has never spent time in a furniture store was willingly giving up a lazy Saturday afternoon of college football to go to thrift stores, vintage shops and furniture stores.  Man did he ever earn some serious bonus points with that gesture.  He let me drag him to 9 different shops, and honestly seemed like he was enjoying it.  No complaining or snide comments, just genuine enthusiasm for our new room. 

 

The coolest place that we visited was a place called the Brocante Market in St. Pete.  It is open the first weekend of every month and vendors from all over bring their cool furniture, décor, books, etc.  We got so many great finds there for our new living space.  I was going to share individual photos of everything we got there but instead, once the living room is done, I’ll show some before and after shots.  I’m a fan of those. 

 

As far as how BB and I are feeling, We are still feeling great!  BB has grown to the size of a sweet potato and weighs about the same as a bar of soap.  I am so excited that in a few weeks we find out if BB is a little boy or girl and am having fun dreaming about our new lifestyle.  Other than some normal symptoms of daily heartburn and some new acne that I heard hormones cause, everything is perfect. 

Week 15 – wardrobe malfunctions

Mmmmm… Guacamole.  Creamy avocado mixed with red onion, cilantro, lime and a pinch of salt.  (That is the simple and amazing recipe from Chipotle.)  I could eat it by the gallon.  I know it sounds like I am just sharing a pregnancy craving.  (I have been making Chipotle a little more regular on my routine.)  But I can’t help but think of the amazing flavor of guacamole every time I think of BB, since it has now grown to the size of an avocado.  We were calling the baby-to-be Pickles for a while but a sweet friend from my small group called it BB during a prayer and that has a little nicer ring to it than Pickles.  I do think Pickles is a fantastic name so don’t be surprised if Mallory gets another puppy playmate one day with that name.  BB is only about 5 inches long and 3.5 ounces but by the way I’m lookin I would think that BB is the size of a butternut squash. (Mmmmmmm… Butternut squash soup.  I need to make that soon.)

This seems about right.

BB’s newest trick is being able to make facial expressions.  It can frown, squint, grimace and wince.  If it is anything like it’s mom it will never be able to wink though.  Just squish up its face in a very uncomfortable unattractive manner that should never be used in flirtation.  If I ever were to try to wink at a boy as a way to flirt in my single days, they probably would have called 911 thinking I’m having a seizure.   Thank goodness I got that sarcastic wit from my dad to get those boys flocking towards me.

My newest trick is my flawless way of having regular wardrobe malfunctions.  On a daily basis I have someone pointing out that they can see my zipper that is down because my belly band isn’t covering it properly.  My favorite happened at a meeting earlier this week where I wore a button down top (not a maternity cut) that when I got dressed that morning looked like it still fit me just fine.  Then I went to a meeting where not once, not twice, but seven times I had the middle button pop open to expose my belly button.  Nothing screams professionalism and class like a woman with her ‘poofy’ midsection exposed.  I ended up spending the whole meeting fiddling with the stupid button hoping that I didn’t give too many people a very unwanted peep show.

Week 13 – Mrs. Cleo’s prediction

Second Trimester is here!  Whoo Hoo!  I made it.  Magically I am supposed to have more energy, no more sickness and feel back to normal.  Right?  Right?!  Well, I will say that it is better than it was before, however we are not in the clear yet.  I am eating normal which is great and most of the foods I crave are all healthy.  I cannot get enough fruit in my diet.  I crave it all the time.  Especially pineapple.  I have been eating so much pineapple I had to look up side effects to see if there was anything I should be concerned about if I eat too much of it. 

I have been feeling good enough to start doing more exercising again.  The only downside has been these wicked headaches that I get every day and how tired I am.  It doesn’t matter how much I sleep, how good I eat and how much I try to take it easy on myself, the headaches don’t go away.  I decided to try prenatal yoga this week which has been the first thing that has made my headache go away.  I will definitely be making that a weekly addition to my routine! 

How did this happen to Daisy Duke?

However, I cannot get over how self-conscious I am about my weight gain.  Yes it has stayed in the belly which is great but it seems to have happened much quicker than most women.  There was a girl in my yoga class who’s belly was half my size and she was 18 weeks!  When I told her how far along I was her facial expression said it all.  Maybe all this fruit isn’t as good for me as I thought…Oh well, I just keep reminding myself that as long as I feel healthy and the baby is healthy it doesn’t matter if I get Jessica Simpson big. 

The further along I am getting in my pregnancy the more I start to think about this little person inside of me.  The biggest question on my mind is if I have a little baseball player or ballerina inside me.  I have had a feeling the whole time that it is going to be a little girl.  Really because I feel like that would be my karma since I was such a delight to raise especially in the teen years.  (Sarcasm could not be thicker.)  My mom put any questions that we might have aside and confirmed the sex of our baby with her visit to her psychic.  During her reading she was told that my first child would be a girl and that my second would be twins.  Twins?!  Man I hope she is wrong… that seems like way too much to handle.  She also said I would be going back to school to do something different with my life.  So I have that going for me.  The countdown has officially begun.  7 more weeks to see if Mrs. Cleo is more accurate then science.  

Call me now for a free readin' (Say it in a Jamacian Accent.)

Week 12 - Blessed in more ways than one.

This was a big week.  I had butterflies in my stomach leading up to our doctor’s appointment.  At 12 weeks, we should be able to put the fear of a miscarriage behind us.  At 12 weeks, we should be able to see something on the sonogram that actually resembles a person.  At 12 weeks, we can finally shout from the rooftop to all of our friends and family that our family of 2 is growing.  So to me, this was a big week.

I tried my best not to keep myself up the night before playing the ‘what if’ game.  Instead, I said a simple prayer first thanking God for this amazing opportunity but then, no matter what his will is for me and this baby, that I will be okay with it.  God blessed us once again when we sat in that sonogram room and saw our sweet little baby and heard its little heartbeat.  I had a huge sigh of relief.  I am on the right road to having a healthy baby continue its development.

The rest of the day I was simply glowing with excitement.  I can share the news with all of our friends and family.  The next few days would be all about Baby Barile.  I was most excited to tell all of my mommy friends.  Our little circle has moved from new marriages to new babies over the past few years and it was my turn to join the club.  I knew that they would be happy to have another woman to share this with.  And I am excited to talk to people who have been through what I am going through!

The timing was perfect because we were heading down to the keys for the weekend with a group of amazing people to celebrate our good friend Sammy’s birthday.  It was the first trip I didn’t have to hide my pregnancy and when I shared the news I was embraced with excitement.  It was also the first time in 15 years that I experienced Duval Street in Key West sober.  That was an eye opener to say the least.  But we couldn’t have asked for a better group of couples to go down there with. 

Logan and I discussed on our drive back how we have really been blessed with a great diverse group of friends to celebrate these moments of our lives together.  People who are truly caring and genuinely sweet people who would do anything for their friends.  I felt honored to be included as part of the group and look forward to developing these friendships even further as I enter into this next stage in life.  College spring break mentality morphed into weekend getaways with girlfriends to now vacations with our friends and their families.  It is an interesting transition but one that I am ready to embrace with open arms.