Tackling the Task of a Baby Registry

Jason and I went to Babies R Us this evening to work on our baby registry. It has become quite clear to me that he and I are not on the same page when it comes to this task. He immediately asked where the flat screen TV's are located. I had to remind him that this is for stuff for the BABY, not for Daddy! He still maintains the fact that the baby needs a flat screen in her room. Following the Flat Screen TV discussion, he hit up the baby food to see what kind of flavors we needed to add to the registry - Translation: what kind of flavors he would prefer to eat, none of them including vegetables. It was at this point, I started tuning him out. So, when I said that I needed this one thing he responds..."I just said that." Oops, guess I wasn't listening! Well, I should have just continued to ignore him because on our way back to the front of the store he picks up this bib that says "Chick Magnet" on it....um News Flash! We are having a heterosexual female baby, Jason! Anyway, we checked out the whole store, looked at some clothes, he sat in some gliders, but I couldn't get him to "try on" any diaper bags to see what he would look good carrying. Oh well...He'll just have to take what he's dealt!

On Saturday, we went to the liquor store so get Jason some beer. I got ready to get out of the truck and he said "You can't go in, you're pregnant." I was thinking to myself, so what! I responded back "well, they sell cigarettes at the gas station, am I not allowed to go in there either because I'm pregnant?" I told him that maybe no one would notice... he didn't seem to buy that idea. He thought it was absolutely horrible that I, as a pregnant woman would dare go into the liquor store. He tried to steer clear of me in there because I guess I embarrassed him. I thought it was kind of funny. There's never a dull moment around here. He actually told me today to "quit hoarding the baby" because I was laying on my side in bed last night and he couldn't feel her. I can't really complain, though. I'm happy that he's excited about her and likes to feel her move. These are the pictures he took tonight.

25 Weeks

Pictures of Baby's Room

The furniture is in a temporary place since Jason is still working in there. He has the baseboards done and new light fixture up, and he hopes to get the crown molding up sometime this week.

We are not into all the pink stuff, so we opted for more neutral and serene decor. When I looked at some of the little girl bedding and nurseries, they were very overwhelming and too busy for our taste.

Don't Do It Yourself!

As you know Jason has been working very hard on the baby's room. However, he has run into some obstacles along the way, which tends to be the case with any other home project he attempts. While my thought is to hire someone to do it and save him the trouble, he is a firm believer in doing it on his own. I can only blame HGTV and DIY network for this. All those TV shows make it look sooooo easy and of course combined with the skills he already possesses any home project is a breeze (in his mind). He will start one project, stop to watch a little HGTV, and then get a NEW idea for something else.

In his defense, mostly all of the problems he has run into have been because the previous home owners did a very bad job at remodeling themselves. With every new project Jason starts, he finds something else they screwed up. All the electrical wires are "southern engineered" so it's a crap shoot to figure what wire connects to what. That being said, after Jason put the new light fixture up last weeked, 3 out of the 4 outlets in the baby's room do not have electricity. Yesterday, he took off the old base boards so he could nail up the news ones and discovered that the previous homeowners actually PAINTED the baseboards to the carpet. So, then he had to cut the paint out of the edges of the carpet.

I'm not quite sure what all his frustration was due to this morning, but I heards lots of cussing coming from the back room. Unfortunately for him, I think it's hilarious that he tries to use as many profanities in one sentence as he possibly can so I try to look away when I hear him coming down the hall.

I wonder if I can just have those 2 channels taken off our cable plan??

24 Week Pictures!

Jason takes his job as photographer very seriously. So asking him to take A picture usually results in MANY pictures. Maybe he should get a part-time job taking photos. He has been able to feel her move a lot lately. He kinda knows now what he's feeling for, and she starts moving A LOT late in the evenings. He has really taken a lot of interest in being able to feel her so he just sits with his hand on my belly until he feels her a couple of times. I'll post some pictures to entertain you, courtesy of Professional Paparazzo Jason!

Update From Today's Doctor Appointment

Jason and I went for the regular check-up today. I have gained 5 pounds since last month, but had lost 2 at my last appointment. So, after today's visit my total weight gain for my whole pregnancy is 9 pounds and blood pressure was 112/64. Dr. Appel said that the report from my sonogram was good. All of baby's measurements were good. She is measuring a day early, but my doctor doesn't feel that is enough to change my due date. However, because she was moving around so much they weren't able to get a good shot of her face. Dr. Appel said I could get another sonogram around 28-30 weeks to try to see it. The baby's heartbeat was 150bpm, pretty consistent with the last few times.

Lori has planned a baby shower for me in Tyler for family down there. It's September 12th from 1-3pm at a French Bakery, Chez Bazan. My doctor gave me the ok to travel as long as it's before 35 weeks. At that time I think I'll be about 32 weeks. It will be a small get together and a good chance to meet Baby Case!

Jason Felt Her!

I have been waiting for Jason to be able to feel her move and it finally happened last night. I had been putting his hand on my belly where I feel her at night when I'm laying flat in bed, but after 5 minutes or so he gives up. She's pretty sneaky. She will thump me somewhere else other than where his hand is so then I have to move it for him and he looses his patience. I was laying flat on the couch last night after eating a big pickle. I told him that pickle would get her moving and it did! She kicked me in the side of my tummy about 3 times so I told Jason to hurry and put his hand in that spot hoping she would do it again. Then there was another thump and I asked him if he felt it and he said "yeah, that's cool!" So, now that he knows what it feels like maybe it will be easier for him to feel it more often.

Baby Shower

Many of you have asked about when I may have a baby shower. Lori had a really good idea to have a shower in Tyler for all the family in September. Everyone from Missouri could get together for the shower and to see Leslie's little boy at the same time. Since Tyler is much closer to Houston than Amarillo, some of our friends and family in that area could come to the shower much easier than coming all the way up here. What do you think?

A Rapidly Expanding Belly

22 Weeks & 4 days pregnant

I guess my husband has noticed my ever-changing shape. He said the dress I wore last night looked different than when I wore it on the 4th of July. The nurse at Dr. Appel's office told me that the weight starts coming on more between weeks 20 and 30. Evidently that's the case because I am growing more everyday. Or should I say, the baby is growing more everyday? I can definitely feel the growing pains of my uterus in my sides. Especially when I cough, sneeze, or twist. Also, I can't believe how much this baby moves around. It feels like there is a fish out of water flopping around in my belly sometimes. She is the most active after I eat. I can't wait for Jason to be able to feel her. Oh, and remember that the camera adds 10 pounds!

Fun New Poll

Jason and I were at John and Lucy's last night talking about how much our little girl could weigh when she is born. Since Jason and I are both pretty tall we think she will be a long baby, but we were wondering if she would be a chunky baby or not. Jason doesn't know how much he weighed when he was born, but I was 6 lbs. 11 oz. I decided to add a new poll to my blog to give everyone the opportunity to vote on how big they think she will be. Let's all hope that for my sake she's not on the larger side.

Starting to Work On Her Room!

Lori came over today and brought us the baby's bedding that she bought for us. It is so cute! She helped us arrange the baby furniture since I was a little frustrated trying to figure out how it was all going to go in that little room. We have not bought a mattress for the crib yet, but hopefully we can get one soon so I can really see how all the bedding will look. Jason and I went to Lowe's this afternoon to get paint. We also bought a light fixture/fan. We were planning on replacing the one that's in there, and Lowe's had one on sale so we went ahead and got it. He will eventually get baseboards and crown molding and some wood blinds to match the rest of the house. Not having that room done and all the disorder has been driving him crazy so I'm sure he'll be diligently working on it. I'm going to try to take some pictures to post along the way.

Update To Vacuuming!

Jason found out where all the crap I sucked is. Some of it clogged the filter and the rest was laying in the bottom of the inside of the vacuum where the bag "usually" is. He opened it up to put a new bag in and pulled out a huge wad of hair and held it up to me while giving me this look like "what did you do?" I kinda laughed and now he's having to actually clean out the inside of the vacuum cleaner and the filter. So now vacuuming is in a holding pattern until the filter is dry enough to use. At least the good news is that hopefully from now on Jason will be doing the vacuuming!

Where has my mind gone?

They say there is this thing known as "pregnancy brain." Evidently absentmindedness comes with the territory of being pregnant. I of course thought this applied to everyone but myself because of my increased level of intellect, as well as the ability to recall any details at any given time. Well, my mind has seemed to escape me the last several weeks. I don't know if I am forgetting things or just tuning people out while I stare mindlessly into space. For example, I was trying to be a good wife and vacuum the house last night while Jason was at drill. It occurred to me half-way through the task that he told me a few days ago not to use the vacuum because the bag was full, he had thrown it out, and didn't have anymore to put in. So I'm not quite sure where all the crap I sucked up went to. Oops! At least I tried. I guess I can't really say I was devastated that I couldn't vacuum anymore, though. There have of course been many more of these instances but that's the only one I can remember right now. Figures.

I attempted listening to my belly again with a stethoscope the other night. Note to self - do not listen shortly after eating 3 hot dogs and baked beans! All that gurgling that goes on must not be very soothing to the baby because she was moving all over. Probably trying to get away from it. Jason hasn't been able to feel her yet, but I think it will be any day. He listened with the stethoscope and told me he couldn't determine if he was hearing the baby or my bowels...nice. As much as I would like to think it was her, I'm pretty sure it was the latter of the two.

I have noticed that carrying around this little belly is making it a little more difficult for me to roll over in bed at night. Usually after a few grunts and sighs later I can make it to my desired position. That is until I have to get up to pee again and struggle to climb back UP into the bed. It is a pretty tall bed, and I'll probably eventually need a step stool. So, finally after more heaving, grunting, and sighing I can achieve some level of comfort. Bending over is becoming a little more challenging too...as in trying to put socks on.

I haven't had any overwhelming cravings, just the need to eat all the time. If I don't eat when I get hungry I turn into this crazy person I have never seen before. After I have my freak out, finally get some food and return to a semi-normal state of mind I tell Jason the baby made me do it. Oh, and I found my first stretch mark last night....not very encouraging to say the least.

Just a Few Pictures

Getting a little Practice in with Kim's nephew, Rhett

Lori Took This at Our Sonogram Appointment

Thumbs Up For A Girl!

New Baby Name Ideas

Jason and I have been talking about names...going back and forth between Reese and Ellie. We may have come up with a name that will satisfy both of us. We discussed naming her Elise Danielle. It's kind of a combination of Reese and Ellie. I'm sure some people will shorten Elise and call her "Ellie," and it also isn't as redundant as Ellie Danielle with all the "elles." I'm making a new poll with the new names to vote for so be sure to give your opinion!

4th of July

Here's some current pictures - Taken today at 21 weeks and 3 days. I don't have any exciting news to report. Everything is still going smoothly. I think my appetite may have picked up a little bit the last week or so, and so has the heartburn. I do feel her moving around quite a bit. Jason is already planning how he is going to keep the boys away from his future volleyball star (he says).








I think Jason is planning on starting her room next week. We are anxious to get it all put together. Lori ordered her bedding but it hasn't come in yet, and we need to get a mattress for the crib still. We haven't bought her any clothes since we found out we were having a girl. Her Grandpa and Nana bought her a couple of really cute outfits. Jason took a couple pictures of our guest bedroom now that it's completed. He put the baseboards and crown molding up, painted, and we added the wood blinds. This is where any of you that come visit us will sleep when the baby comes :)