My very first award!!!!

I logged onto Blogger this morning and found that not only do I have a new follower (welcome Tracey!!) but I also won my very first award! MsBabyPlan gave me the "You're going places Award", and I'm so very excited!!

This award requires the winner to write where she sees herself in ten years from now. In my head, ten years from now, I will be a mother of two, living in Michigan with my darling husband. We will have traveled as a family to tons of places including Hawaii to visit some family members I have that live there, and will spend a lot of our time volunteering, and helping others. Our children will be very well mannered, and know that they are loved more than words can express. We will also have one dog. That pretty much sums it up for me, I'm not worried about material possessions. My husband and I are both hard workers, and as long as we're able to provide for our family, I'll be happy. I'm not worried about having a big house, or the latest year model car. I just want my family to be happy and know that they are loved.

I would like to pass this award on to Jen, Mrs. Green, and Basic Girl.

Thanks again Ms.BabyPlan! I'm so happy to have received my first award!

My Wishlist

I've become completely obsessed with baby items lately. It honestly consumes most of my time! I've decided to compile a list of all the things that I would like to have before Bunny arrives.

Here goes:

A Medela Freestyle Pump - It's lightweight, small, and convenient. I thought about other pumps, but really wanted something I could carry back and forth to work. The cost is around $329.99, but I've seen it slightly cheaper on Ebay...

The Chicco Cortina Travel System - It received great reviews for safety and convenience. I'm going to check one out this weekend and see if any other travel systems catch my eye. Around $289.

FuzziBunz One Size Cloth Diapers - This is one of the many brands I plan to try out before I purchase my complete stash.

A wrap of some sort for baby wearing. I'm still reviewing different brands and haven't settled on one yet.

____________________________________________________________________

That pretty much sums it up for now. I'm still checking out more items, and will continue to add once I make decisions. I know I still have awhile before Bunny is due, but I want to be able to dedicate time to reviewing and testing out different brands to find what works best for us. Suggestions and ideas are appreciated!!

14 Weeks!!!

How far along? 14 weeks! (Officially in the 2nd trimester, no matter what!)

Total weight gain/loss: Still down a few pounds.

Sleep: I've been a zombie lately, I'm so unmotivated to leave the house all I want to do is sleep!!

Food cravings: Strawberry Lemonade from McDonalds, YUM!

Best moment this week: Having my doppler arrive, and being able to find Bunny's heartbeat. It was the best sound ever. I'm not going to use it every day, just a few times a week. It's so reassuring, I love it!

Movement: I know Bunny is moving, I can tell from when I use the doppler, I'm still unsure if I'm feeling any of it yet but I know it is soon to come.

Labor Signs: Nada, just the same old uterus stretching sensations.

Belly Button in or out? It's still in. When my belly is really bloated, my belly button looks fake, it cracks me up!

What I miss: Not being nauseous. It seems like my nausea has decided to make a late comeback. I have to keep this belly full, or else I feel pretty bad. I know Bunny is growing really fast, so I'm trying to give him/her the nutrients that he/she needs.

What I am looking forward to: Feeling movement, finding out the gender, looking pregnant to others, etc.

Milestones: 2nd TRI!!!!!! I feel so fortunate to have made it this far, this is such a dream come true.

Cloth Diapering

Does anyone have any tips/ideas? I really, really want to cloth diaper Bunny. I've already ordered some flushable, biodegradable inserts that make for easy disposal of messy diapers, but I really want some insight from people who have done this before.

I'm thinking of going with FuzziBunz brand, but I'll make my final determination after I got to this great little shop in Ann Arbor that sells tons of different products/brands. I've also been looking for breast pumps since I plan on pumping after I return to work. I figure it's time to at least research the items that I might be interested in, although I probably won't actually buy the items until I hit 6 months.

I'm also interested in which type of detergent is best for washing cloth diapers, as I don't want Bunny to have a sore bum, or tons of rashes.

Baby V's heart beat

I hope this works...

Baby V kept moving away from the doppler this morning, you'll see that I lose the heart beat a few times. The average reading was in the 150s. The loud "record scratch" sounds are Baby V moving. Sorry for the quality of the video, it was taken with my cell phone.

Love at first listen

My doppler arrived in the mail yesterday. I was tempted to use it as soon as I got home from work, but I had promised my husband that we would go to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. I've been so tired lately that I've been coming home and going straight to our room, where I'd just lounge and watch TV before falling asleep at around 7PM. My husband has really been wanting to spend time together, so I wanted to keep my word.

Once we got home, I ran straight to our bedroom with my new doppler and a bottle of ultrasound gel in hand. I squirted the gel, turned the doppler on and placed the probe on my belly near my bikini line. Nothing.... Absolute silence. I thought that was weird so I grabbed the directions. I read the whole thing, with goo all over my belly, feeling frustrated. Finally, I looked down at the cord and noticed that the probe connector wasn't fully inserted into the slot where it connects to the monitor. The speakers must have been on full blast because it sounded like I had just turned on a really loud record player, you know that muffled static sound?

I placed the probe on my belly again, near my bikini line, and heard the most beautiful sound right away. The "woosh, woosh, woosh" of my baby's heart beat. The monitor that I bought displays a heart whenever it detects a sound that is regular enough to be a heart beat, the rate was around 160 beats per minute. My husband came in the room with a huge smile on his face. Being the "realist" that is he, he asked me how I knew for sure that it was the baby's heart beat and not my own. I explained to him that the baby's heart beats much faster than ours, and placed the probe over my heart. It sounded much different than what we had just heard. Still unconvinced, he had me place the probe over his heart. It sounded just like mine. I found the baby's heart beat again, and my husband said, "Wow, it does sound totally different!!". He was super excited after that. I listened again this morning, and I am completely in love with my new purchase. Sometimes it's so hard to believe that there is actually a human in my tummy. I can't wait to feel kicks and movement. The doppler helps put me at ease, and it's so easy to use. I just love it!

Thank you all for the kind comments on my previous post. I've started to write things down in my pregnancy journal about my mom that I want to share with the baby. Thinking about all the great memories made me feel a little better. It's still a struggle, but I'm working through it.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Thinking

Lately I've had a ton on my mind. I've never been so excited, yet down, in my entire life. I think the thing that is weighing so heavily on my mind is the fact that I miss my mom so much.

My mom passed when I was 12 years old, and my life has never been the same. Usually I'm pretty good about staying positive, and appreciating what I have now, instead of reflecting on the past so much. But it's hard to not try to imagine how things would be if she were still here. I could really use the support right now. Not that my husband and sisters aren't great. They are, but there's no one like your mom. She raised my siblings and I to be the best people that we can be. I have so many wonderful memories of her and sometimes it just breaks my heart that my child won't know her. I know my mom would have been an awesome grandmother, I wish I would be able to experience the bond that they would have shared.

I broke down....

And ordered a Doppler today. I bought if off of Amazon.com along with the ultrasound gel. I was going back and forth about getting one, and I think it's going to be a good investment until I can start to feel discernible movement. It has an LED display which counts the beats per minute, and a speaker so DH can listen along with me.

I paid for express shipping, so it should arrive on Friday. I've been feeling kind of unsettled lately, so I'm hoping that the Doppler will help put me at ease.

I belong to a pregnancy forum, and so many ladies on there are experiencing miscarriages. It just breaks my heart. It also makes me worry about my pregnancy even more.

My heart feels so heavy for Rebecca. She recently had an ultrasound which showed her that her baby had passed.

I feel so down today so I'm glad I chose today to purchase the Doppler, it gives me something to look forward to, since my next doctors appointment isn't for another two and a half weeks.

13 Weeks!

How far along? 13 weeks (time is flying by!!!)

Total weight gain/loss: Still down, I'm not sure how much I lost.

Sleep: I still crave sleep, but I can function off of less. Before I was a total zombie if I didn't sleep for like 12 hours a day.

Food cravings: None this week, my aversions have come back and I still struggle with food.

Best moment this week: Showing everyone our latest ultrasound picture!

Movement: I don't know what I was feeling these past few days, I'll chalk it up to indigestion. So, no??

Labor Signs: Nothing here, baby's still baking.

Belly Button in or out? In, and I have a feeling it will be a LONG time before it pops out.

What I miss: Sometimes, a glass of wine. Yesterday we were in the penthouse of some luxury condominiums watching a fireworks show, and there was free food and drinks. It would have been SO nice to be able to have a glass of wine. But I have such a good reason not to drink!

What I am looking forward to: My belly getting bigger.

Milestones: One week closer to the 2nd trimester! (I think. LOL! My pregnancy books say the 2nd tri starts at week 14, but some people say it's week 13)

I meant to include a belly pic this week, I'll try to have my husband take one for me tonight...

Flutters? Gas? What is this?

I've been craving huge cups of ice water lately. I have to keep a huge cup by my bed so when I wake up to pee I can sip before I get back in bed. Yesterday, I was drinking water while sitting on the couch, and a few minutes afterwards I felt this weird flutter type feeling in my lower stomach. I dismissed it as gas bubbles, and went on with my day. I noticed it again yesterday evening when I got back in bed, and thought it was weird. I mean, drinking water never gives me gas, and the feeling is so low that it doesn't seem like it's the water settling in my stomach.

So I don't know what this is. Every single book that I've read states that it's too early to feel movement. Even if I went by my last ultrasound date, which would put me at 13w2d today.

Even now, I'm at work, and I'm drinking water and about 10 minutes later I felt the same flutters as last night and yesterday afternoon.

Am I crazy? Gassy? I don't get it.