17 Weeks

Little nugget is now the size of an onion, is about 5 inches and almost 6 oz.  I'm happy to report that I am getting more of an appetite--I can eat beef again, but chicken still grosses me out.  Ironically I've been more nauseous this week than the past few, but I've still been able to eat more than just bagels.  (YAY!)

The good news:  My 16 week appointment went great; baby's heartbeat was 150 and we find out the sex April 20th!

The bad news:  My midwife told me I'm probably going to have "a gigantic baby."  I'm sorry, but those word should probably never be uttered to a first time mom. (Or any mom for that matter!) She was basing her conclusion solely off the fact that I told her I was a gigantic baby--9 lbs, and 15 oz (my mother is about 4'11" and about 95 pounds).  So now I have the fear of God in me.  I'm completely freaked out that my lady parts are going to rip from end to end (or I'll have a C-section like my mom had to). 

How big were your babies at birth?  Did you weigh about the same when you were born? 

Nurturing Growth

 {Via}

My pastor once said: "Whatever you put time into, will grow, whatever you stop spending time in will die."  

Those words resonated with me...at the time, I was apathetic about my faith, because I wasn't spending any time in God's word or with God, some of my friendships were fizzling because I wasn't putting any time into them, my work was suffering because I was busying myself with non work things.  I reassessed and prioritized. 

I think so many relationships die because people stop putting time into them. 

My husband and I go to bed together almost every single night.  It's a little gesture that I know not all couples have the luxury of doing depending on schedules, but the fact that we crawl into bed together is something that I believe makes our relationship stronger.  We take time to ask about each others day; we check-in on "us," and we spend some good cuddle time together.  We don't always fall asleep together, one of us may stay up reading or watching Hulu on our laptops, but I really treasure that time as our days are so busy.  I know adding a baby to the mix might change things, but my relationships with God and my husband are my priorities...I will find the time to put into them, so they'll grow. 

DIY Bunting

I'm hosting another baby shower next month and I decided to get started last weekend on the bunting project.  I learned how to make one with my friend Rachelle, who helped my organize the last baby shower I hosted. 

My first bunting project

I was a little nervous to make one solo, but it turned out just great.  There are a few items that really help in creating one. 

The first must have item is pinking shears...I had no idea what these were until Rachelle explained.  They prevent fabric from fraying once cut, and they also make a cute little jagged edge along the cut edges.  Also, heat and bond for the letter cut outs.  Can I tell you how Martha Stewart I feel now that I own a pair of pinking shears!?!

Remember to copy the letters on backwards, because when you iron them on, they'll be facing the correct direction!

The last step, which I have not completed is to sew it together.  I can't sew, so I'm going to have a friend do that step! (I know, I'm no Martha Stewart!).

Game Changers

{Via}

It was a rare Saturday afternoon; the sun was shining and my husband wasn't working.  We sat on the back porch and soaked in the sunshine talking about life, and how it would change once lil nugget joins us.  "How will it change?"  he asked.  "Lack of sleep, for one thing," I replied.  But other than that, we couldn't really visualize how our life would be different.  I know it will be, on a monumental scale; but it's just not something we can wrap our heads around yet. 

I can't wait.  How did having children change your life? 

16 Weeks

Little nugget is the size of an avocado, about 4.6 inches and 3.5 oz. This afternoon I'm going in for my 16 week checkup, I'm so excited to hear about the progress baby Taylor is making.  My nausea has definitely gotten better--it's still there, but way more tolerable.  In its place is back pain and heart burn (which I'll take any day over nausea).  I've also noticed how incredibly winded I get from just walking...I'm nervous about this getting worse and not being able to get up and down my own stairs...but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it!  My food choices still don't venture far beyond cereal, bagels and fruit, but every now and then I think, "I would really love a hot dog."  I'm nervous about eating them though...so I've avoided those random cravings.   All in all things are so much better, and somehow I got through those weeks that I thought would never end.  I did however, tell my parents that we'll be adopting the next baby, I don't think I could endure those first 12 weeks all over again!

Austin

I'm in Austin until Wednesday for a work conference, and as much as I dislike traveling for work, I have to admit, the humid, warm air is just what this lady needed after weeks upon weeks of cold, wet, snowy weather in Tacoma.  I was able to fly in a day early to see my parents; the first thing I did when I got home was walked straight to the back porch and laid down in the sun. 

See the ugly sock lines?  Looking forwad to the summer when socks are no longer needed!

I can't tell you how delicously satisfying 20 minutes in the sun was...I was desperate for it!  I haven't even minded that it's been overcast and windy because it's still so warm outside. Thank you Austin...you've been quite hospitable so far. 

15 Weeks

I'm still always shocked when I see my belly in these photos.  I don't wear close fitting tops during the week, so I'm pretty sure no one can tell I'm pregnant yet...I don't really feel I look pregnant yet until I see myself in tight fitting tops! 

Overall I'm feeling better.  I thought I could stop taking my medication, so I did, and I started puking again--so I'm back on the meds.  My appetite is slowly increasing.  I still don't venture far from bagels and cereal, but at least that's not all I'm eating.  My craziest craving has been an Arby's beef and cheddar.  (Which is totally random because meat still grosses me out).  But twice now I have had killer cravings which caused me to stop what I was doing and drive to the closest Arbys. 

I'm headed to Austin for a work conference next week, so it will probably be a bit quiet around here. Have a lovely weekend folks!

Don't Be Jealous

Welcome to March in the Pacific Northwest. 

Calgon take me away!

Looking Back at the First Trimester

Let me just tell ya, the first trimester (for me) was anything but feminine.  If you're super lady like, I'd skip over the whole pregnancy thing.  Constant burping, gas, constipation, gagging, upchucking, acid reflux....sounds hot right?  (There is only so much you can blame on the dog).  I was one of the unlucky ones plagued with unbearable, god awful, horrific pretty bad morning sickness (all day sickness, rather). For the most part, I was in my bathrobe, un-showered, in bed, groaning and/or crying and looking very, very pathetic. When women would say, "I just loved being pregnant, don't you just love being pregnant?" I'm sure my eyes could've shot darts.   There are books that tell you about this stuff once you're pregnant, but it's not knowledge you really seek out prior to getting pregnant, therefore not really discussed.  Speaking of stuff people don't discuss, did you known the average woman is actually pregnant for 10 months?  Whaaaa???  How did I not know this?  What was the craziest thing you found out when you were pregnant?

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Yesterday was the first day I didn't take my nausea medication.  I was starting to feel better, have cravings, diversify my food choices a bit...I was thinking that I might really be done with this morning sickness thing.  And then this morning I yacked my guts out.  Boohiss.

The B Word

Budget.  Yep...that word is brought up monthly in our household and after months and months of "talking" about it, we finally read Dave Ramsey's book, Total Money Makeover, and decided now that a baby's on the way, we gotta get moving on this budgeting idea!  We felt we were pretty good with our money, but actually writing down every single dollar that goes out the window every month and seeing how much money we've been spending was actually a shock to us both.  Because Andy and I both earn commission, monthly budgeting is kinda difficult, but we figured out what we wanted to be living on every month (which is significantly less than what we are currently living on) and decided to use that number to budget.  It's only been two weeks and I have to admit, it's hard.  Using cash versus a card is a pain, but I can already see how much more mindful I am of spending now that I'm paying with cash. Also, we won't be living off two incomes forever, so we might as well get used to what that feels like now!

I'm a visual person, so I wrote out our budget on a whiteboard over my desk and color coded it...

As hard as budgeting is, it's also very exciting to visually see on a month to month basis getting closer (rather than further) to our financial goals.  Does your family follow a budget?  How closely do you follow it? 

14 Weeks

I can definitely see the difference one week has made as far as my belly protruding goes.  I now feel like I'm somewhat pregnant looking instead of just fat.  It is a strange thing to see your belly grow so rapidly, but I'm not at all worried about the weight gain, (probably because I've only gained a few pounds...gaining weight prior to pregnancy was my  number one concern!).  I'm still plagued with nausea; however it isn't as intense as it has been which I'm thankful for.  I will be very, very glad though when my diet consists of more than bagels, cereal, and random cravings for pickle juice.  

So little nugget is now the size of a lemon and is now squinting, frowning, peeing and possibly thumb sucking.  Yeah, I'm not sure about the whole sitting in it's own pee situation, but clearly the body knows what it's doing! 

Back in Time: The First Time

This post was written Feb. 12

Last week we got to see you on the big screen.  You were about half an inch and gremlin like, but in the cutest way.  We saw your heart beat for the very first time...which made my heart skip a beat.  We didn't cry (which is shocking to us both).  We had to sit down though afterward--we really realized that you're real.  Hallelujah.

Spring Chills

*Ironically the sun is out today...but it's still cold!
They cold, grey days of the Pacific Northwest are starting to weigh on me.  I'm still bundled in scarves, long sleeves and my down jacket, wearing rain boots, and still running heat through the house.  I'm longing for the warmth of the sun and some color back back on my skin.  I took a trip down memory lane and looked through my blog posts from 2 years ago when Andy and I were traveling through Central America....oh, how I miss those days of tank tops and summer dresses!

Nicaragua

Playa Las Lajas

Utila

DIY Chalkboard Calender

Our weeks are getting a little crazy at the Taylor household.  Between small group meetings, work meetings, Dr. appointments, random household guests through Airbnb, and all the other demands of life, Andy suggested we put up a weekly calender so we know what is going on with each others schedules.  I happened to have all the supplies to create it, and I remembered seeing it on my friend Lindsy's blog awhile ago.

All you'll need is chalkboard contact paper (I ordered mine through Amazon.com), and a large picture frame (I found this one at Goodwill months ago). 

I simply measured out the amount of contact paper I'd need and applied it to the cardboard that came with the frame.  If I had no intention of ever using the frame for anything else, I would've put the contact paper on the glass, but I might reuse it, so I saved the glass. 

That's it!

It's hung in the kitchen so we know we'll actually look at it every day!

Back in Time: Do Over

Written Feb. 2, 2012

I was one day shy of being 9 weeks according to my baby bump app.  But according to my first ultrasound, I needed to back track and do week 8 over again because they pushed my due date out one week.  WHAT?!  Week 8 just happened to be the worst week of nausea and vomiting to date.  I didn't get out of bed for 4 days except to heave over the toilet...and now I had to do it over? I've researched morning sickness out the wazoo and have tried everything.

 (One of Andy's many trips to the grocery store).

Finally, after a week of complete misery, hunger, irritability and just plain feeling like I was gonna die, I called my Dr. and she gave me a prescription for Zofran.  It's the same stuff they give to chemo patients for their nausea.  I hate taking pills but I hated even more my gag reflex jumping at every whiff of anything, so I eagerly took the prescription, and the first day I took this little pill, the heavens opened up and I swear I heard angels singing.  I felt human for 24 hours.  And then it stopped working. 

Insert swear words here_____.  

Ok, it didn't completely stop working.  The vomiting is now just once or twice a day now, but the dang nausea is unbearable.  I've made my poor husband switch his body wash twice already because the smell of him after showering was repulsing me.   I know, pathetic right?  

One thing I haven't tried? Acupuncture.  I'm going in for my appointment tomorrow.  Please, please, please Lord let this work.

*Update: I've since been to 3 acupuncture appointments and they have helped, unfortunately my insurance does not cover it, therefore, I will not be going back as it is not in the budget. sadface.

One Down, Two to Go!

I'm officially in my second trimester!  I was waiting for the magic to happen that the second trimester promises, lots of energy, no more nauseousness, and overall feeling fabulous.  Unfortunately for me the second trimester brought on more vomiting, more exhaustion, and overall feeling the opposite of fabulous.  One can dream right?  My belly is definitely growing.  The rubber band trick I think is only gonna last a tad bit longer...looks what is happening to my poor rubber bands. 

They are getting seriously stretched out...in fact one popped open the other day!  I think I'm gonna head to Target and get a belly band today and spare my hair bands. 

So the update on lil nugget--this week he/she formed fingerprints, is the size of a peach (or a medium sized shrimp...which seem like two very different sizes to me??), and about .81 oz.  I'm still on a pretty bland diet of carbs and fruit and I really miss eating normally.  I've finally started some basic exercise of walking and prenatal yoga which is helping relieve some of the tension in my back.  The prenatal yoga DVD I bought could also be named  "Yoga for the elderly."  It is seriously so super duper gentle I wonder how it can be making any difference at all?!  The really sad part is after the first session I was sore the next day.  I'm clearly at the right level!

March Photo Challenge

Everyone's doing it...

So here's number one:  UP

The chandelier in my dining room which I get compliments on all the time...the truth is, it's plastic and from Home Depot.