23 Weeks!

I can't believe we are almost done with our 2nd trimester!!!  :) 

This was a week of celebrations!  We got to celebrate Bridget's 30th birthday at Vidalia Restaraunt in DC!  :)  And, we traveled to WV to surprise Teri as an early birthday present!    We had lots of fun times in WV!

Our nursery demolition is still underway.  We picked our nursery colors and Kris is busy planning on how to build the closet! This weekend, he got to go to HARBOR FREIGHT with his dad and use an awesome gift card (from my parents) to buy a bunch of tools for his project.  Since we got back from the shopping outing, Kris keeps saying:  Tools...Tools....lots of tools...  :)  I think someone is excited!  :)  As I type this, he is trying out one of his new tools in the nursery!  :)

Kris and I have avoided baby clothes shopping because we knew we'd have a hard time walking away from all the cute outfits there are!  Buuuuuut....on our shopping outing-the boys went to Harbor Freight and the girls went to Macy's.  OMGosh...they have some cute clothes.  I could have easily bought 15 outfits there.  We had decided we wouldn't start buying clothes yet because we don't have anywhere to store them.  But there were these two outfits I just HAD to have.  They were "First Impression Asian Blossom" outfits.  One was a dress and the other was a winter outfit.  I was feeling very weak....so I called my mom (thinking SHE would help me regain control because certainly SHE understood that I needed some help with self control).  WRONG.  My mom just laughed at me and told me that the baby would need a lot of clothes!  :)  I told her I needed help with self control because it was too early for us to start shopping for clothes.  Her response?  Isn't Grandma with you?  Ask her to get it!  :)  HA!  I guess...TECHNICALLY she helped me gain SELF control...but now I know.... both Grandmas aren't to be called during (what I shall call: WMIS):  Weak Moments In Shopping!  :)  We had to go back through Macy's to leave, after dinner...because of COURSE the bathrooms were right by the baby clothes.  So...Gram Nodianos bought the dress I wanted so badly! They didn't have the winter outfit I wanted, but Gram Nodi said she'd look at another Macy's.  Based on my mom's reaction and Teri's reaction to my WMIS....I know that our little girl will not be hurting for clothes!

I continue to grow more and more and have outgrown all but one sweatshirt of mine.  I'm now on to Kris' clothes!  I feel like my belly button might be getting ready to pop...it feels really spacious and weird!  I've been doing more with stretching to help ease the pain in my back, but I haven't noticed a huge difference.  Thankfully, Kris is an amazing hubby and he gives me a back rub when I need it.  Our little girl has been kicking, punching, and rolling around more and more!  The kicks and punches are getting so strong!  Kris has been able to feel her more regularly and Teri was able to feel her this weekend! Some of the kicks even startle me!  She kept waking me up last night with her kicking!  :)  I love it though...so she can continue to kick away! The ONLY thing that is tough to handle at the moment is when she starts kicking my bladder...she makes me have to go pee IMMEDIATELY!  We had a mad dash at the mall to get me to a bathroom in time.  :)  Still, though...even that made me laugh! 

Here's a week 23 picture.

And yet another use for my Snoogle pillow!

I use it...Kris uses it...Oreo think it's HIS pillow, and now Kellan uses it!  Look at this little guy chillaxin' in my Snoogle pillow!

Nothing too new to report in these last couple of days.  Our little one has been moving around a TON!  It's been great!  :)  Oreo's been loving cuddling with her too!  We have a KING sized bed...and this is where he choose to sleep just about every day!   Sorry to those if pregnant bellies freak you out....

22 Weeks...and bring on the fat fingers.

We are now at week 22!  :)  This week has been a busy one with cleaning, organizing, and demolition!  I've been on a cleaning rampage, which Kris LOVES LOVES LOVES!  We've both been organizing and getting rid of things that we don't need, which has been creating a lot of extra room!  And, Kris was able to get the nursery almost all the way empty. Click here to see some pictures of the nursery creation!  I completed a sonogram album with all our original sonogram pictures of our little one, and I'm about 5 pages away from needing a new journal! I've been keeping a journal for our baby from before we started the second round of IVF and it's gotten really full!  Need to get a new book! 

I've been feeling our little one move more and more!  Her kicks are starting to get so strong!  Kris got to feel a couple of them...it was awesome.  It's still so unbelievable to know that I have a little person in my belly! 

I had to take off my engagement and wedding rings because they were just too tight.  To get them off, I had to use a lot of lotion!  It feels very weird not to have my rings on...but my fingers are just too fat to wear them!  So now they are residing in a safe place! 
 
I've been doing really well with my food and exercise plan!  I've been getting all the important nutrition and still able to have a treat every day!  :)  This week, my craving was DORITOS!  Just regular Doritos.  It started one evening and I just couldn't shake it.  The whole next day I was seeing Doritos everywhere in the house (we didn't have any in the house), smelling Doritos, and tasting them whenever I thought of them.  It got to a critical state just before Kris left work to come home...so he stopped off and picked me up a Family size bag.  Oh yummmm......  I've been exercising everyday for at least 30 minutes.  I've taken to DVRing General Hospital (guilty pleasure) and watching it in the morning while I walk on the treadmill.  OR, I do one of my Prenatal Yoga sessions on TV. 

Here are some week 22 pictures!  This shirt is getting awfully tight!  And...don't you just love how I coordinated this outfit!  :) 

oh good golly...

I've heard about it....thought maybe I'd get lucky and miss it...but it's here.  Oh yes...it's here....

HEARTBURN!

That is just plain nasty...The good news is that my dear friend Alli told me that it would only get better!  ....unfortunately, I think she was being sarcastic....ugh....

I am a 32 year old woman and today I had a temper tantrum over M&M's...

Hormones.  That MUST be the reason for my ridiculous behavior earlier today!  I am not exaggerating.  I had put some M&M's in the freezer (I like my chocolate frozen) the other day and I went to go enjoy it with some pretzels today.  THEY WERE GONE.  So, I asked Kris if he ate my candy and he said he did.  I started stomping my feet, pounding my arms, and screaming about the fact that those were MY M&M's.... when he busted out laughing, I realized that my behavior was a tad bit....odd.  To top it all off, I had my temper tantrum while Kris was on the phone talking to his mom! 

HA!  I guess it's good that we can all laugh about it!  .....now...

~The emotionally unstable mom-to-be .....

21 Weeks

Before I start this update...I'd like to encourage everyone to get involved with the Haiti relief mission.  Kris and I donated to an organization called World Hope International.  They are based out of Alexandria, VA and are faith based.  I did research on them and was moved by the different ways they support the global community.  I've also volunteered to do work around the area (mostly office work since I'm pregs) to help support their various missions. 

Now to an awkward change of topic.... 
21 weeks!  We are over half way there and just starting to get our butts in gear.  We've been working hard organizing the stuff that is currently in the nursery and hope to be able to start "demolition" in February!  We've been actively researching cord blood banking, cribs, nursery decor patterns, names, etc...  Today Kris and I went to BabiesRUs and spend a couple hours "researching" items for our registry.  I can NOT believe how many items a baby needs!  We also choose our nursery pattern.  We picked a pattern called Mia Rose:  

I am also on day 11 on my "Eating Right" plan.  I'm doing GREAT!  I'm tracking all my nutrition information to make sure I'm getting enough of the important nutrients.  I thought it was going to be kinda' hard...but it's turning out to be much easier that I thought!  Kris has also been making me these special protein shakes that I am actually enjoying!  I'm also on day 7 on my "Getting Active" plan!  I've walked or done something active for at least 30 minutes every day! 

Here is a 21 week belly picture! 

And then a couple funny pictures. The pants I'm wearing are Kris'....please note that I did NOT need to tighten the waist to make it fit...

And if you are interested, I made a "Belly Progression" and "Baby Progression" album if you want to see them.  Just look in the right column of the blog and click on "Pictures of Baby Nodi".  If you watch the "Belly Progression" it's funny if you watch it twice.  The first time watch my belly expand...and the second time watch my face expand and my hair grow!  It's funny! 

And even though this has nothing to do with my update....my brother in law sent me this picture of Evie and I just HAD to post it.  They are in Hawaii...and I just couldn't get over how incredibly adorable this picture was!

20 week sonogram and check up

Sonogram went GREAT!  Our little girl weighs about 13 ounces, and is about the size of a bannana!  Her heart rate was 141, which is perfect.  She was moving around a lot, as usual, and is still enjoying sucking her thumb!  We got to see what the front of her face looks like too...Kris said she looked like an alien.... ;)  But, we both agreed she was beautiful.  :)

Here's a couple pictures...you can find more on our picture website:  http://babynodi.shutterfly.com/

Our technician, Michelle (who also happened to be our technician from the last sono) went picture crazy.  She printed off a roll of pictures so long it was almost as tall as me! 

After the sono, we headed to the OB appointment.  I weighed 139 pounds, which is now a 25 pound weight gain.  We heard the heart beat again, and she answered a few more questions I had...and that was it. 

We have another appointment in 4 weeks, but no more sonograms for a while. 

After the appointment, we grabbed some food and then walked around the mall for a bit.  Kris was ridiculous.  :)  We were walking around Pottern Barn for Kids and he wanted to buy everything.  We'd walk by a pink bunny...he'd want it.  We'd walk by a cute towel...he'd want it.  But...the biggest problem was the animal robe things...you know the towels with an animal head at the top?  He loved the bunny and the cat.  He also loved the pink rhinocerous hand scrubber thing.  Shopping with him is going to fun.  :) 

HALF WAY THERE!!

Oh my goodness!  I can't believe we are at week 20!  Halfway there!  :) 

So...you know that I have discovered a huge love of sweets.  The problem is that I have allowed this love to overtake me!!  I was eating upwards of a dozen chocolate chip cookies, a 1/2 pint of icecream, and multiple candy bars every day...ignoring my protein, calcium, and vegetable requirements.  :(  I didn't really think too much about it until the other day when I realized that all that junk food was going to our little girl.  And that the fuel I was giving her to grow was all crap!  That made me sick to my tummy!  So...like a normal over-achieving Chamberlin female...I got it together.  I made a checklist of all the foods I need to have on a daily basis, made a chart of suggested food items in each group...posted it on our fridge.  Every time I eat/drink something, I mark it down so I know where I'm lacking.  To go the extra mile, I even put the nutrition facts about my three worst problems: Chocolate Chip cookies, Twix candy bars, and my Ben and Jerry's ice cream in hopes that seeing that will help me moderate my "problem." So far, I've had 4 good eating days!  Here's a picture of my food chart!  :)

Something funny...for most of my adult life, I've worn "mini people" sized clothes...or kids clothes.  My typical size was XS.  Well...I've grown out of my XS sweat pants..so I got S sweat pants...grew out of those...so I got M sweat pants...grew out of those.  SO, I decided to buy for projection...and for the first time in my life I bought XL sweat pants.  :)  And...I love them!  They are so comfy!  :)  The funny part is that the rest of me is short....so I had to HEM the sweat pants by over 6 inches each leg!  :)  HA HA HA!

Yesterday, Christmas officially ended.  We took down all our decorations.  :(  It made me very sad while we were doing this because I love Christmas and all the decorations.  But, it hit me:  The next time we take these out, our daughter will be here!  That is so exciting!  It's so hard to imagine!!! 

Also, last night while we were watching "Angels and Demons", our little one started moving around a lot...so I put Kris' hand on my tummy and he could feel her!  That was very exciting because he hasn't been able to feel her in a few weeks.  :)  I'm looking forward to more daddy and baby bonding moments where she kicks him around!  :)

Tomorrow, we get another sonogram so I'll update with some pictures then.  For now, here is my week 20 belly picture!  ...and can I ask:  do these pants make me look fat?  ;)  HA HA HA!!

Those Shipman's know how to make them! :)

Today I got to babysit Kellan all day!  What an incredible joy!  I have been so excited about it!  And, he is such an amazing baby.  I was a little nervous about the diaper changes, feeding, and keeping the little man happy....but he is one easy going kid!  I was also interested to see how Oreo was going to do.  He's met Kellan before and was fine...but this was all day.... Perhaps this picture tells the story best:

Oreo was ALL about Kellan.  He kept coming up and giving him kisses and sniffs.  And whenever I would get up to leave the room, he would walk over to Kellan to protect him (I didn't feel comfortable leaving the two of them alone so I always called Oreo to me...but still...sweet).  This is a picture of Oreo protecting Kellan!

                          

Kellan was such an agreeable little guy!  I was cooking, so I put him in the high chair and moved him into the kitchen...he was happy as a clam! 

                                     

I was also able to complete 5 loads of laundry!  What a day!  I can't stop staring at him, but I'm forcing myself to get some work done.  :)  I've been listening to my NEW kitchen radio all day to a classical radio station and am feeling VERY relaxed!

This is how Kris found us when he got home!

On a completely unrelated note, we registered for our baby classes yesterday and are scheduled to start at the end of March!  I'm actually pretty excited about it...I'm sure the information they will cover is the same that I am reading about on-line and in the three pregnancy books I have-but I will feel so much more comfortable taking the classes!

Sweet Evie...

Evie has been soooo sweet this week!  She would put her hand on my tummy and tell me that was where the baby was.  She would talk about our little baby and the things she was going to do with her.  She even told Patty that she wanted us to set up a big girl bed in the nursery so she could protect our baby!  When we went to the mall, she picked out clothes for the baby and toys!  Patty and I couldn't contain our excitement as we thought about our girls playing together!  And, when I said goodbye to them last night, Evie put her hand on my tummy again, kissed my belly multiple times and told the baby she loved her.  I mean...SWEET doesn't even begin to describe my niece!  Here's a picture Patty took of Evie talking to our baby girl.

19 Weeks...and Happy New Year!

2009 was an emotional year with lots of ups and down.  BUT, overall it was a really great year. However, I'm looking forward to 2010 and to becoming a mom! :)

For New Years, my sister, neice, and brother all flew in for my parent's birthday so it was REALLY awesome to celebrate New Years Day this year! Evie, who is 2 1/2 years old...has informed me that she is going to teach our baby how to cook/bake and is going to take care of her. She has put her hand on my tummy a couple of times and told me that was where our baby was. :) She also asked me if she could hold the baby in her arms when our baby comes out. SOOO sweet. :)

Kris and I really started tackling the name game this week. :) We had a previous list of names we both agreed on, but we have started searching the internet and reading a baby name book in search of the perfect name. Although we are going to keep the final three names a secret until she is born...here are some options! :) Hee Hee Hee!

1. Petri Dish Nodianos (joke about our IVF process)

2. Pi Delta Nodianos (Engineering joke)...

3. December Nodianos (since she will be born in May)

We will be going back for another sonogram on January 11, so we have just 8 more days until we get to see her again! :) Here is a19 week picture. BTW....as of December 28 I have gained 20 lbs so far. :)