30 Weeks

30 weeks down, 10 weeks to go!!!

Bebs: Bebs is about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in theuterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.

Hebs: I've been feeling pretty good lately! I'm finally sleeping better, now that I've taken back my Mommy Boppy! ;) There are so many pillows surrounding me, I never know if Hubs is in the bed or not!

Acid reflux issues seem to have relaxed somewhat. The Tums and Maalox have been really helpful. If anything, I'm just exhausted again. I feel more tired now than I did in the first trimester. Getting out of bed, bending over, and sometimes even just sitting are difficult. When I sit all day at work, I swear, the baby is laying across my ribs. It's getting hard to breathe!

Cute Dexter story:

The other night I was laying on the couch and Dex was being surprisingly snuggly with me. He was laying right next to my belly, chewing on his bone, and all of a sudden Bebs started freaking out in there. It felt like she was rolling over. I could definitely see a knee? elbow? some body party protrude out from my belly, and it brushed against Dexter. He sat up, stared at my belly, looked at me with his "pug head tilt," sniffed the belly and then started licking it! Maybe this is all coincidence, or maybe he really does know what is going on in there! :)

Funny Dexter story:

Since our house now looks like a Babies R Us (which we are BEYOND thankful for!), Dexter likes walking around the living room and smelling everything. He is very interested in the car seat, as well as my Molly doll sitting in the car seat. The other night Jason snapped the carseat in to the snap n' go stroller and wheeled it around the house. Oh boy. Dexter did not like this one bit. He ran after the stroller, barking and growling, like when he tries to attack the vacuum. I guess he needs to get used to all of these new things!

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is a week away! ONE WEEK! Once Thanksgiving is here, then it's only a month until Christmas....and then it's only a month until Bebs' due date! These next 10 weeks are going to fly by.

Here is what I'm hoping we accomplish by the end of this month...
1. NURSERY
2. NURSERY
3. NURSERY

We need to paint the trim and closet doors, clean out the closet, buy our furniture at Ikea, put said furniture together, and then decorate and organize everything! I can't wait! I feel like my nesting instincts are in overdrive and the only thing I've "nested" was underneath my bathroom sink, lol. I got super motivated to clean it out and organize it. I want to do that to the entire house, but I don't even know where to begin!

Looking forward to another busy, fun-filled weekend! Saturday we are going with my parents to pick out adorable, white baby furniture at Ikea. Sunday, my mother-in-law, MiMi is having a baby shower for me with Jason's family. I can't wait to see everyone! :)

Maternity Photo Shoot

Hubs and I have been blessed with some pretty fantastic friends in our life. Two very special friends in particular gave up a Saturday afternoon to do a maternity photo shoot of us. Many, many thank you's go to the super talented Jeff and Schlupp for taking photos, editing photos, styling the photoshoot, and putting up with Dexter. ;) We love you guys very much!

OCNJ 2008
Four years ago, can you believe it??

Here's a little sneak peek...

Love, LOVE, love this one!

My new favorite picture of me and the Hubs

<3

Schlupp--stylist, art director, pug wrangler
Also, we don't follow rules. ;)

Kisses for Mommy

Kisses for Bebs

Three mustketeers!

Here is the link to Jeff's professional photography website...

http://jeffmoreau.smugmug.com/Friends/Ebersole-Maternity-Shoot

And while you're there, you should definitely check out some of his other albums! :-D Christmas is coming soon, and who wouldn't love a fantastic print of a beautiful nature scene? ;-)

28 Weeks

28 weeks down, 12 weeks to go!
And yes, this photo is blurred intentionally. After being awake since 2 a.m., I figured I would do you all a favor! Don't look too closely at my scary face, haha.

Sorry this post is late! Hurricane Sandy had other plans! For those of you keeping track at home, this week is technically 28 weeks and 2 days. :)

Bebs: By this week, Bebs weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through the womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Chinese cabbage
Mmm...Chinese food. Maybe I can convince Hubs the baby needs it for dinner?

Hebs: Happy third trimester to me!! Can you believe we (yes, "we")  have made it this far? According to my baby book, I can expect to gain 11 pounds during the next 12 weeks. Also, my ob/gyn appointments will go to once every two weeks, and then once every week during the last month before my due date.

For the most part I've been feeling ok. Still experiencing some RLP off and on, usually in the wee hours of the morning. I've also been getting sharp, quick pains in my hips while sleeping. Oh, and the restless leg syndrome has kicked in again. And I'll wake up at 2 a.m. and can never go back to sleep. (Any of you ladies recommend a great under-eye concealer for dark circles??) And sometimes Bebs is so close to my ribs/lungs it makes it a bit difficult to breathe. But really, I'm fine. :)

This morning for example, I was up at 2 a.m. I had to pee and then I could NOT get comfortable to fall back asleep. My legs had the creepy-crawly feeling, I was attempting to toss and turn, which is no easy feat, and was beginning to get a headache. Bebs decided to throw a dance party and would NOT stop moving/kicking/punching me. I feel bad because normally I love feeling her move, but I was just too exhausted.

Hebs (this morning): Your kid kept me up all last night!
Hubs: Really? My wife kept me up all last night!

Haha, sorry Hubs. Thank you for trying to make me comfortable, though!

The Hubs and I have had quite a busy week! We celebrated our friends' Tom and Amanda's wedding on Saturday, hung out with Hubs' family on Sunday for his brother Kyle's birthday, and survived a hurricane!




Mr. and Mrs. Edge!

Hebs & Hubs enjoying the reception

 

Thanks Hurricane Sandy!

Thanks to the hurricane, Hubs and I spent some time at my parents' house. I think Dexter was pretty happy to be there! He enjoyed exploring each room and following his Gramps around. (I think Gramps was happy he was there, too. ;)) My Nana and Pop-pop were there as well, since they were still without electricity. So Hubs and I got two good home-cooked meals and a warm bed to sleep in!

 

"Do you need any help, Gramps? Need me to lick the spoon, perhaps?"

GiGi spoiled Dexter with new toys and treats!

 

The two days without electricity that we endured at our house were ok. We certainly didn't have it as bad as what we later saw on the news. Our bamboo partition between our deck and the neighbor's yard is a bit destroyed, the back yard is covered in leaves, sticks and branches, and we got a tiny amount of water in the basement. Thankfully we were able to use our gas stove to heat up some hotdogs (and a bagel--lol). We napped, played cards, and Hubs even convinced me to play some Magic with him...and I beat him. Twice!

 

We also let Dexter sleep in our bed. Snoring, sniffling, smelly Dexter. He loved it. He got so much attention this past week he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He snuggled right between Hubs and I and only woke up at 2 a.m. both nights to spend some time licking the blanket (gross) and making this weird noise with his jowls that drove Hubs insane. Hehe.

Mommy and Daddy are Boring

Hey guys, Dexter here. I just needed to get a few things off my chest. I have NO idea what is going on with Mommy and now Daddy is acting weird, too.

I'm so cute, how could you NOT want to play with me?

I enjoy playing with Mommy on the floor and biting her. Then she throws my toys and we tug back and forth and wrestle for a bit. Now all of a sudden Mommy doesn't want to do that anymore. She wants to lay on the couch with her (and Daddy's?) hands on her belly. They sit there with their hands on Mommy's belly, then look at each other and giggle.

Here I am sniffing Mommy's belly to see what all the hoopla is about.
Daddy is holding my paws back because now I'm not allowed to walk all over Mommy anymore.
Hrrrmph!

Now whenever I try to get Mommy to play, I give a few good nips on the hands before she yells for Daddy. Then Daddy will come and scoop me up and put me on the other side of "the gate." There are now four gates in my house! My house has become a prison!!!

My life is so boring. I think I'll take a nap on Daddy's lap.

There is a big gate that keeps me away from Daddy's computer, a gate that keeps me out of my favorite place to poop inside the house (the dining room), a gate that keeps me from the TV room, and a gate that keeps me away from ALL of the rooms upstairs. What the heck?

I am so bored now, all I want to do is take naps.

Daddy and I both fell asleep on the couch while Mommy was watching something called "Honey Boo Boo?"

I finally decided to cozy up to Mommy and see if I could get close to her belly without Daddy's iron-clad grip on me. I sniffed Mommy for awhile and decided to lay down on her with my bone to get better accquainted. I normally do not do this with Mommy. Daddy is my favorite and normally I want to be wherever he is, but I gave Mommy a chance. While I was laying on her belly, I'm pretty sure something moved in there. Maybe she ate too much pizza?

WHAT was that? A gurgle? An alien? Is Mommy's stomach exploding?

I think I will leave all the belly touching to Mommy and Daddy! Maybe I will figure out what is going on soon. They better not be getting another pug. I do NOT want them to pay attention to something other than me!

18 Weeks

Hellooooo baby bump!

Bebs: Head to rump, Bebs is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and s/he weighs almost 7 ounces. The baby's busy flexing his/her arms and legs, blood vessels are visible through thin skin, and ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from the head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his/her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after the baby's born, too! If Bebs is a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If Bebs is a boy, his genitals are noticeable now.

News from Maternal Fetal Medicine: I received a voicemail from one of the nurses at the hospital to give me the results from my sequential screening ultrasound and bloodwork. Everything with Bebs is great! Baby tested 1 in 10,000 for a genetic disorder such as Down's Syndrome or Trisonomy 18, and tested 1 in 6,000 for Spina Bifida. We were ecstatic with the good news! :)

The Furnace: Lots of things have been happening around our house lately! First of all, I am happy to report that Merry and Pippin only lasted at the SPCA about two weeks before they were adopted. :) That makes Hubs and I feel much better about giving them away.

Our new bedroom is completely finished! I'd still like to get curtains and some artwork on the walls, but in terms of all the work that was done to it, moving furniture, etc....we are done! I don't know if this is a psychological thing or what, but we both said that our bed is much more comfortable and we've both been sleeping better since moving into that room! I've been happily sleeping on my side comfortably and hugging my KU body pillow all night, too. I can only lay on my back for a few minutes before it gets uncomfortable, and laying on my stomach is pretty much impossible now.

Mama Hebs painting the trim

Hubs and Dom prepping the installation of the ceiling fan

Hubs and Hebs!

Jason has already moved all of his clothes into his dresser, but alas, all of my clothing is still in piles in what will eventually be the nursery. I spent quite a few hours organizing my side of the closet, ironing maternity clothes and arranging shoes. (Hubs just LOVED that, lol). I'm just at a loss for what to do with all of my "pre-pregnancy clothes" that no longer fit. So far I left all my jeans, dress pants and dresses in our old bedroom closet and I think I may do the same with my other shirts and sweaters. Even looking at those clothes makes me a bit sad I can no longer wear them. Ridiculous, I know!

We also went out and purchased 4 baby gates (AKA pug gates!). The gates are really more for Dexter's sake than the baby's...or let's face it, my sake. There is a large gate separating our kitchen from the weird open space living room/computer room, and a small gate separating the kitchen from the dining room. This has become Dexter's area. We have left him out of his crate during the day (and overnight!) with no accidents. So far, so good! Every morning I come downstairs I find him in his crate, and every time I come home from work, he's been sitting in his crate, too. I would love to know what he does all day with this newfound freedom!

"Mommy, what the heck is this??"

We got two more gates like this, also. One for the top of the stairs (when baby is here) and one at the top of the little steps leading down to our TV room (for Dexter)

17 Weeks

Check out that bump!

Bebs:  Baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — the lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Bebs weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and s/he's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. S/he can move her joints, and his/her sweat glands are starting to develop. I've definitely felt a lot of fluttering and "bubble" sensations! Bebs is definitely wiggling around in there!

Yum Yum donuts!

Hubs and I had quite the busy weekend! Friday night we went to Musikfest with our friends Jeff and Dom. Jeff was kind enough to bring one of my favorite foods--donuts!--to help fatten me up. :) That was very sweet of you; thank you Jeff! :-D

When I woke up Saturday morning I wasn't feeling too hot. I was too dizzy to get out of bed myself, so Hubs helped me up and I darted into the bathroom. More morning sickness. After that, I continued to get ready for yoga. (Nothing was standing in the way of me and my yoga class!) My yoga buddy/co-worker/friend/life partner Schlupp kept an eye on me during class since some of the moves were making me feel a bit nauseous again. After class Schlupp and I asked our yoga instructor, Charlyn, for advice on gaining weight in a healthy way.

Charlyn had a ton of great tips and basically pulled all the food out of her cabinets! We talked about avocados (ok, I guess I seriously had to give them a real try...other than Jess's famous guacamole!), nuts, quinoa, hard-boiled eggs, Clif bars, and making smoothies with frozen fruit, Greek yogurt and some brown rice flour. I was inspired after talking about nurtrition with Charlyn and stopped at the store on my way home. (Can someone please tell me on the days when you are unshowered, sweaty, and have disgusting hair...that those are the days you run into literally everyone you know at the store??)

Organic tomato from my friend Dave's garden and the dreaded avocado!

While shopping I picked up some quinoa, Clif bars, frozen fruit, avocados and spinach in addition to a few other necessities we needed. I was excited to give avocados a second try when I got home. I have to say, they're not that bad. I enjoyed eating it. Of course I had to cut it into bite-size pieces, try not to "mush" it up, and covered it in coarse salt--but hey. I ate it and it was good. The organic tomatoes from Dave's garden were absolutely delicious!

Saturday afternoon our friends Jeff and Dom came over to help us finish up our bedroom painting project. They were able to help Hubs install the new ceiling fan/light fixture!

New fan/light fixture!

I will write another post later this week on the new bedroom, but I just wanted to give a shout out to Jeff and Dom to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of the help they gave us! I hope the lasagne and beer were good enough for all the hard work you did! :)

Saturday night we had a few friends come over to sit on our deck and enjoy some munchies and beers. As you can see, Dexter got a little carried away... ;-)

Dexter, the party pug!

Sunday Hubs and I woke up incredibly motivated to FINISH PAINTING! We gave a second coat to the trim, window frames, door frames, and doors while listening to some of the best music our CD collection from the '90's had to offer.

Last night I had the second part of my sequential screening test. I had one vial of blood drawn, and that was it! We thought we were going to get a second ultrasound, but no such luck. We will get the results in 3-5 days if it is discovered the baby has any genetic abnormalities. The first ultrasound and blood draw looked good according to the OB/GYN, so I am not worried.

Oh! One more thing! Yesterday I received a gorgeous flower arrangement from my cousin Katelyn who lives in Maryland! I was completely surprised and felt so loved.

Gorgeous flowers from Kate!

Bebs and I have been thinking about (and missing!) you, too, Kate!
I'm not sure if Dex misses Lilly, though... hehe ;)

Thank you Katelyn! They are beautiful! :)

The times, they are a-changin'

Hi everyone. Dexter here.

 

Mommy has been sick lately, so I volunteered to write her blog post for this week.

 

I don't know how Mommy can be so tired. It seems like all she does is lay on the couch with her eyes closed and an ice pack on her head. She seems pretty lazy if you ask me. And Daddy waits on her hand and foot! He is always bringing her water and rubbing her belly and asking what he can do for her. I don't get it. They should rub my belly more!

 

Sometimes when Mommy is being lazy I like to snuggle up with her and chew my bone. Mommy likes this and pets me and sometimes I fall asleep. Other times, I get mad that Mommy is being lazy and I have to bite at her hands so she knows I'm there. Then Daddy gets mad at me and puts me upstairs. Hrmmph!

 

Things have been happening in my house. Some things are disappearing, while new things are coming in. For example, Mommy and Daddy got these great stuffed toys for me, or so I thought. They haven't let me play with them yet! There is a little stuffed tiger and a stuffed musical giraffe just sitting on the table being wasted! I could have ripped them both apart by now.

 

Don't these animals look ready to be chewed on?

 

 Mommy and Daddy also got a lot of books and cards, but I think their birthdays were awhile ago? Mommy also got a cape from Nana, but she wears it backwards. I'm not sure what's going on with that.

 

Nursing cover made by Nana!

 

 

Also, Pappy Marshall came to the house to paint an empty room for Mommy and Daddy. They were very excited about it. I followed them in there to sniff around, but I didn't notice anything except it smelled funny!

 

Mommy and Daddy said this will be their new bedroom. Maybe I can sleep with them now?

Mommy said I look possessed here!

 

 Oh, and one more thing! Those little squeakers are gone. I'm not sure what they were, but they were furry and stayed in a cage. Usually I just ignored them, but sometimes I liked to get close to their cage and sniff around. Mommy was talking about "steam cleaning the carpets" soon, buying new furniture, and wondering where they could put a "pack and play." A pack and play sounds like something fun for me! I can't wait!

 

Merry, one of the "squeakers"

Pippin, the other "squeaker"

 

11 weeks

I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July! I'll post some pictures next week from our family picnic at my Uncle Mark's house. (No "belly" pic this week, but I'll definitely have one next week!)

Bebs: The baby is the size of a fig now; s/he's just over 1 1/2 inches long and is now almost fully formed! Hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under his/her gums, and some of his/her bones are beginning to harden. Bebs is already busy kicking and stretching, though, unfortunately I still can't feel it.

Fig!

Hebs: This week was a little rougher than last week, unfortunately. All of my issues seem to stem from food: if I don't eat enough, if I eat too much, if I look at something that's unappetizing...I feel sick. There are a few things that I can still eat no problem--pickles, cheese and crackers. Mmm. Haha. Eating meat has been a challenge, but I'm trying to just suck it up and eat it for the sake of Bebs. It's sad, but pretty much the only foods that sound appetizing to me lately are anything that's been processed or pizza. I could probably eat pizza or processed macaroni and cheese for every single meal now...with a side of pickles!

What's going on in there?

Hubs: Dexter and Hubs have been quite active lately! Hubs has taken up golf and seems to really enjoy it! He has been using one set of clubs from my brother and pretty much golfing once a week. He's been out on the golf course with friends, at the driving range, and even hitting balls in our backyard...which Dex then loves to chase and attempt to gnaw on. I'm really happy that he's found a new hobby that gets him outside!

Dex retrieving a ball for Daddy. Getting him to give it back is another story!

Hubs chipping and putting on Father's Day

Our little pug also has a new hobby--swimming! Hubs took Dex in the pool at my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bill's house. Watching him "doggy paddle" around the pool was the cutest thing ever! At first he didn't seem to like it, but he was able to swim back and forth between me and Jason a few times! Playing with Dexter in the pool just made me all the more anxious to have a baby to take in the water!

Dexy-doo doggy paddling!

Watch out Michael Phelps!