MY TUMMY @ 20 WEEKS...

I am all belly and he is riding low :)! I had a doctors appointment last week and Dr. Stone was really happy with where my weight was at for 20 weeks! She said that I am only 11 pounds more than my pre-pregnancy weight so I am doing great! She informed me that a healthy weight gain during a pregnancy for a woman my size is between 25-30 pounds so I am right on track. She reminded me to keep eating healthy and that splurging once in a while was OK as long as I did it in moderation and practiced self control! I lost so much weight from being so sick in my first trimester so that helped the weight cause a little, although I still feel guilty for the weight I lost during that time. The important thing is that my weight loss did not hurt the baby and he is doing well. Jake and I got to hear his heartbeat again and she said that it sounded healthy at 150 beats per minute. I look forward to hearing our little guy's heartbeat every time we go to the doctors. There is nothing like hearing your unborn baby's heartbeat...I cry each time I hear it! We were very happy with our visit and are very happy with our doctor.

MY TUMMY @ 17 WEEKS...

PICKING OUT THE FURNITURE FOR THE BABY'S ROOM

One weekend Jake and I took a drive to Babies R Us as I was feeling much better and wanted to get out of the house since I had such cabin fever from being stuck in the house pretty much my whole first trimester. While we were there we decided to start our baby registry and start making decisions on larger items such as car seats, strollers and the baby's furniture for his room. It was really nice because they had such a nice selection of furniture to choose from. Jake and I both decided we liked the same bedroom set so it made it really easy! We both really liked the dark wood finish and the finish we chose is called Espresso and the name of the collection we chose is called Babi Italia Pinehurst. The collection looks as classy as the name sounds! We loved how the crib can be turned into a toddler bed when the baby is a toddler and then it can be used as a day bed or regular bed as he gets older! How far cribs have come today...it's amazing! He just better like this bed until he is a teenager! We did not like the idea of purchasing a changing table as we felt it was kind of a waste of money because it can only be used for a short period of time so we opted to choose a dresser/changer combo and feel that he will be able to use this for years to come as well. We also decided that we would like to get him the 5 drawer dresser so that he has more space for clothing.

So far we only have the crib set up in his bedroom. My parents purchased the crib, picked it up at the store for us and delivered it to our house! What service I tell you! The crib was their big gift to us and I am so thankful to have such great parents to help us out. Of course I could not wait to have Jake put it together so he did so a couple days after it was dropped off. I am really looking forward to getting the rest of the furniture soon and getting his room all put together! Jake's parents and grandparents have talked about maybe purchasing the two dressers for us so that would be really nice! Below is a picture of the bedroom set (That is not the decor we chose though in the picture...see previous post for a picture of the room decor) and a video of how the bed works (JUST BE SURE TO GO TO MY MUSIC PLAYER AT THE BOTTOM OF MY BLOG AND PAUSE THE SONG PLAYING OR IT WILL DRIVE YOU NUTS TRYING TO LISTEN TO THE VIDEO. YOU CAN UN-PAUSE THE MUSIC WHEN DONE WITH THE VIDEO).

A LOVE FOR ANIMALS...

We have decided to decorate the baby's room in a Zoo/Jungle theme since Mommy has such a love for animals. After all, it runs in the family on my side! My mom loves animals and I grew up hearing stories of how she brought a tortoise home one day and told my Grammy that it followed her home or how she plotted with a boy she was friends with down the street when she was growing up to bring her a kitten from his cats litter to her birthday party as a birthday gift in a basket so my Grammy could not say no. She knew she could not have one but it was a gift and how could my Grammy make her give it back! Or how a chimpanzee escaped it's trainers (who worked for the studios) property when she was little and she found it sitting on the ledge of my grandparents pool splashing water and begged my papa to keep it! The trainer of course came looking for the chimp but that did not stop my mom from begging my papa for a monkey. He told her that if she could save enough money to buy one then she could have one! So my mom went and found a shoe box and wrote "Monkey Money" on it to start her savings! She never did save enough money to get that monkey she always wanted :)! Mom was always bringing home strays claiming they followed her! Funny thing, still to this day, she takes in strays and tries to find their owners. My dad started his first job at the age of 11 training dogs at a kennel. He really cracks me up how he has a million nicknames for he and my moms 4 dogs and is constantly coming up with new ones! What is even more funny is that they are all so smart and know that he has such a soft spot for them so they are constantly begging him for treats and he gives in very easily! I wonder if our child will learn this same trick?! As for my love for animals...it would have been fun to grown up on a farm with many different animals but since I didn't I only grew up with dogs. Mom has always been crazy allergic to cats as an adult so they were never an option when I lived at home. Now that I am married I have a little Zoo of my own...Three dogs (Zoey, Rocky and Paige) and two cats (Zack and Molly). Oh, and a salt water reef tank which is more like hubby's than mine but I still love it! My sister is also a huge animal lover and currently works with Lions and Tigers and Bears...well not bears! She went to EATM to be trained in Exotic Animal Training Management.

So I would like to pass down our love for animals to our baby and teach him how to love animals as much as we all do. I am going to decorate his room with monkey's hanging from the ceiling and Jake and I picked out an adorable bedding set which I will post a picture of. A couple years back I bought this adorable elephant rocker that I will put in his room also. I look forward to the day he can start riding it. I will post a picture below of the rocker. As soon as his room is complete I will be sure to post pictures to share with you all. Decorating his room will be such a wonderful nesting experience :)!

SCRAPBOOKING

I really enjoy scrapbooking when time permits and plan on doing a book for the baby. A couple of times throughout the year Michaels has a really good sale on their scrapbooking supplies so I like to take advantage of them when I can! Especially since I always have a gift card that has been given to me as a gift from my Grammy for different holidays. So I picked up a few baby embellishments at 40% off the other day during a big sale. I know I will be very busy when the baby arrives but I am hoping that I will get a little free time in! Scrapbooking really relaxes me and makes me happy. Check out these cute things I picked up!

MORE THINGS FROM MOMMY...

MOMMY'S GIFTS FOR HER LITTLE MAN...

I have picked up a few things for my little man over the past couple months, but I have been trying really hard not to go crazy as I am sure I will get a lot of nice gifts at my baby shower. How can this mother to be resist buying her baby some stuff?! Especially since it is my first! I tend to gravitate towards the greens if you notice. You can't really tell but in the second picture of the onesie it has little paw prints all over it! Here are some things I have picked up:

DADDY'S GIFTS TO BABY...

I thought I would share a few things that Daddy has picked up for his little man :). The cute pink Elephant teether was actually bought before Jake knew we were having a boy. He brought it home to cheer me up when I was really sick in my first trimester. I am sure that little man will not mind that it is pink...after all he is only going to chew it up and slobber all over it! Mommy really loves it because of her love for elephants ;). Can you believe Daddy actually picked out the two outfits pictured!? Such good taste! I love the monkey outfit and the cute little monkey face on the butt! The other outfit Jake picked out made him think of his Dad "Grandpa Russ" because he has a Jeep that he takes off roading, and Jake thought it was cute how there is a monkey driving a Jeep! I wonder what Grandpa Russ will think about this outfit?!?!?

GENETICS SCREENING AND FINDING OUT THE SEX OF THE BABY EARLY...

On February 25 (at 13 weeks and 4 days along), Jake and I set out to the Hospital for an appointment with an outside specialist that my primary doctor sent me to for some genetic screening tests to be performed. During this ultrasound they compare your blood test results (taken a week prior to the appointment) to the baby's organs and measurements. They look for genetic abnormalities such as Spina Bifida, Downs Syndrome and Trisomy 18 in your fetus. Normally the tests are performed when a woman is of age 35 or older but I was given the option to have these tests even though I am only 30. I opted to have the tests performed for piece of mind. If my insurance was going to cover it and my doctor was going to give me the referral to do the tests...then why not!!! Some people would rather not fuss with it but I felt it was something I wanted to do! Dr. Benoit's office was so nice and he had the best equipment imaginable! He did a 3D ultrasound and a 4D ultrasound. The 4D ultrasound was very creepy looking but so much more realistic than the 3D one. During the ultrasound he said "I know what it is"...Would you like to know he asks?! Would I like to know???...OF COURSE!!! I had another ultrasound date lined up for April 6Th with my primary health care but was not about to wait until that date! He informed us that he could only give us a 80% guarantee as I was still only 13 weeks along which is early but he seemed pretty confident! Jake and I then learned it was a BOY! He then informed us that all the the baby's organs looked like they were developing on track and that my first trimester blood tests came out negative for Spina Bifida, Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18. During the ultrasound our little baby boy was very sleepy and kept putting his thumb in his mouth...it was so cute! At one point the doctor even had to poke at my tummy a little to get him to wake up and move so he could see his spine to make sure it was developing correctly. Jake and I just sat in amazement during the whole ultrasound staring at our little baby. I didn't want it to end! Luckily, the doctor made us a video of the ultrasound to take home so we can watch it anytime! He also gave us some pictures that turned out really good!

CARE PACKAGE GOODIES FROM MY MOTHER IN LAW...

Here are some of the things that were sent in the care packages I received in the mail at different times from Jake's mom during my first trimester as mentioned in my last blog post. A cute little outfit for little man, a froggie rattle, a blanket she made, bath goodies in a travel bag, a book and a teddy bear. She also sent a Parent magazine, some pretzels to help my tummy, and a chocolate bar for "Daddy to be" which are not pictured.

GOODIES FROM MY MOM...

Here are some of the goodies that I was talking about in my last blog post that my Mom had my Dad drop off to me to cheer me up when I was so sick. Some cupcake kitchen towels, some yummy cuppycakes and some picture frames :).

PREGGIE POPS AND PREGGIE DROPS...

Here is a picture of the Preggie Pops and Preggie Drops that I was talking about in my last blog post that Jake bought for me online to help with the morning sickness. They are made from all natural ingredients.

MY FIRST TRIMESTER

I found this cute cartoon online and had to share.

First Clip: I was warned about morning sickness
Second Clip: But I haven't got it...
Third Clip: Instead I've got 24/7 sickness.

My apologies for not updating my blog in the past couple months, but as most of my friends and family already know I had what felt like the worst flu of my life for the whole first trimester of my pregnancy. There were days that I felt so awful that I could not even get out of bed or off the sofa. I could not keep anything down! Getting on the computer only made me feel even more sick and dizzy than I already did! I would read when I could here and there and watched a lot of T.V. which became very old after a while! Foods and smells repulsed me! It seemed as though the only time I was happy was when I was sleeping which I did a lot of during the day because I was so exhausted. Some days I would just be nauseous all day and others I would find myself running to the bathroom to get sick several times a day. There was no particular time of the day that I would feel worse than others...I just felt sick 24/7. I spent many days drinking ginger ale and eating saltines. I even wore Sea Bands on my wrists to help my nausea.

Jake was so helpful and amazing in so many ways. He would try and bring me food and get me to eat, did laundry, cleaned the house, did the dishes, payed bills for me, let the dogs out when they needed to go potty, fed all the animals, brought me flowers and magazines, ran errands for me (including the grocery shopping), held my hair for me while I was getting sick, brought me fresh warm wash cloths to wipe my face, and gave me much needed mental support. I give him so much credit for pulling this all off while working overtime during the busiest season of the year at his work... and he did it all with such love and no complaints! One day he even stopped by Babies R Us to bring me home some goodies such as a cute Elephant baby toy, veggie chips, a strawberry milkshake powder packet, some pregnancy granola bars, and some special pregnancy waters! He even went online and ordered me these all natural ingredient candies and suckers made especially for morning sickness called "Preggie Pops" and "Preggie Drops"! When I would wake up throughout the night because I would sleep so lightly and had trouble getting comfy he would wake up and ask me if I was alright and rub my back to help me fall to sleep. Some nights I would feel so badly from being restless that I would sneak away into the guest room to try and avoid waking him. Sometimes I would wake in the middle of the night to eat some crackers and just the sound of the wrappers would wake him!

Even going to the doctors felt like the hugest chore to me! During one of my Doctors appointments Jake and I discussed with Dr. Stone how I was having trouble keeping the prenatal vitamins down. I told her how I felt that the vitamins were making me sick to my stomach and that it may be contributing to the nausea and lack of appetite and asked for her advice. She advised me to stop taking them for a couple of weeks and to take only 800mg of Folic Acid assuring us that this would be OK.
She said she would rather see me keep foods down than not keep anything including the vitamins down and be getting zero nutrients. She advised us that in a couple of weeks when I was feeling better and approaching my second trimester that I should get back on another brand of prenatal vitamins that may sit better. So, after leaving the appointment Jake and I headed over to Vitamin World to pick up some Folic Acid and to check out their selection of vitamins since the GNC brand was making me gag from the smell and the fact they were "Horse Sized" pills! I even had Jake cut the pills or smash them to sprinkle in what food I could eat but I would still gag! Jake was worried a little even after the Doctor said it would be OK to stop taking the prenatals for a couple of weeks so he grabbed a bottle of gummy bear watermelon flavored children's vitamins to see if maybe I could keep those down and at least get some vitamins! Cute Hubby! We also chose another brand of prenatals for when the time came to start taking them again by the name of "Rainbow Lite" that were petite in size and easier to swallow per the sales girl working there. Some days I was able to take the gummy bear children's vitamins and some days they made my tummy hurt, but I was always able to keep the Folic Acid down without it upsetting my stomach so that was a good thing!

Another person I owe much credit to during this trying time was my Mom. She was so helpful with advice and so caring about everything. Everyday she would call to check on me and see how I was feeling and even offered to come over and help clean the house or help with whatever she could. Many days she would just talk to me on the telephone to keep me company or listen to me cry and try to calm me down reassuring me that it would all pass and to keep my mind on the prize in the end. She was so supportive and I cannot thank her enough for being there for me. She would even send me cute little cards to cheer me up or have my Dad stop by on his way to work to drop off little goodies to make me smile.

Jake's mom also sent a few care packages with things to cheer me up. I will post some pictures of what she sent.

TELLING JAKE'S FAMILY...

Jake's parents picked us up early the morning of January 2nd to head out to Lake Isabella for a day filled with lots of family. As Jake and I got into the car we handed them their little gifts to open. I told them that we had gotten them a little New Year's gift and that they had to open them at the same time. It was really fun to watch their reactions as they pulled the gift out of the box. My mother in law Lucy said "Yes!...I knew it"! Guess she caught on to our little secret as soon as she saw the present. She shared with us that just a few days prior she had a dream I was pregnant- Weird, I know! She gave us kisses and was just glowing with excitement. My father in law Russ said "Al-right"!!! with much excitement also as he exchanged kisses with us! As we drove up to the lake which takes a couple of hours we chatted about when Jake and I found out and about baby stuff. It was so cute because his parents kept calling each other "Granny" and "Crappa"(what Jake used to call his Grandpa as a little guy). We arrived at Grandpa and Grandma Andrews house first (Lucy's parents) where Dad helped us break the news to them by saying "Are you ready for a little one"? as we watched Jake's cousins little boy play in the center of the room. Grandpa and Grandma did not hear Dad as there was much going on but it helped me break the news as I was feeling a little shy about the announcement. I am not sure why I was being shy as I broke the news but as soon as they heard me Grandpa jumped up out of his chair and gave me a big hug and kiss and held me for a minute. He was so excited! Grandma then got up and gave both Jake and I a kiss and said congratulations to both of us. Grandma was excited and had many questions for me like when the baby was due to arrive and how many weeks along was I and did I have any ideas for how I would like to decorate the room. She shared stories of her pregnancies and deliveries with me. Grandma also shared with us that she too had a dream a few days prior that I was pregnant! We enjoyed our visit with them and they are very excited to have another great grandchild coming into their lives.

After we left their house we headed over to visit Russ's side of the family. We met them at Jake's cousin Michelle's house. It was really nice because there was a lot of family there and family members I had not met yet such as cousins and an Aunt of Jake's. I was in such aw as I looked around at all the Blued-eyed people there! I am hoping that our child gets those blue eyes that Russ and his siblings all have! Both of Russ's parents had blue eyes also! Jake and I have hazel eyes but you just never know how the genes will work?!?! Russ broke the news to the family before lunch that we are expecting by saying "I'm going to be a Grandpa". Everyone was so excited! It also made me really happy to hear him say that he needs to take good care of himself so that he can be here to enjoy his new grand baby. After lunch we decide to head out as we had a long drive home. I was so exhausted from the days excitement that I fell asleep for most of the car ride home. Jake's sister Krisde did not go with us so I sent home her surprise gift with Dad and Mom. She texted both Jake and I later congratulating us. UPDATE: Jan. 6th...Today we received a card in the mail from Krisde that was so sweet that it made me emotional. I was very touched by what she wrote to us.

Being good parents starts at conception not at birth!

Today Jake and I decided to go over to Barnes & Noble to spend our gift certificates we received for Christmas. Of course I ended up in the Pregnancy/Baby isle where there was a large selection of books to choose from. Being first time parents - we both are a little nervous and have tons of little worries about the Do's and Don'ts. I am sure every first time parent feels this way. After all being good parents starts when your child is in your belly and not just when they are born. I purchased "Pregnancy Do's & Don'ts" by Elisabeth Aron, M.D., "The Real Deal Guide to Pregnancy" by Erika Lenkert and a Baby Book to start recording my pregnancy. My Mom made a baby book for me and I still to this day love to look back at it and want our child to be able to do the same. Also, over the years I acquired two books that were passed down to me from my Mom and a friend which are "Pregnancy & Childbirth" and "What to expect when you are Expecting". So I think we are pretty set and have more than enough literature at this moment to help get us started :). While I was there I also made my way into the children's book center. It is amazing and I can hardly wait to take our little one there!

After Barnes & Noble we went to Sports Chalet and while we were there hunger crept on up me and I began to feel nauseous. It's funny how you can be fine one minute and feel terrible the next! This has taught me to carry around a snack in my purse at all times! Jake got what he wanted quickly so we could go and get some lunch. Unfortunately, Baby Thome could not wait for lunch! At the register they had different snacks so I chose raw almonds. I could not wait while we were waiting in line to pay so I ripped open the package like an animal! This cute little girl about the age of six in front of us in line said "You have to pay for those". Kids say the funniest things! Normally I would never do a thing like this but the sickness made me do it! So I told the little girl that she was a very honest person and that I was of course going to pay for them. I told her that I had a baby in my belly and I was feeling sick. Her mom giggled and explained to her daughter that when a woman is pregnant she can get really sick and vomit if she does not eat something right away. The little girl glared at my belly in such confusion. She said "It does not look like a baby is in there...when is it coming out"? I told her when and she just said "oh" with a confused look on her face again. I left that up to her mom to explain as I think she was still learning how many months were in a year and how many days were in a year and so on. Kids crack me up! Well at least her mom taught her to be honest and that is important!