Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Georgia, here we come!
My bosses handled the news that I was leaving very well. I think they expected it, since Chris is finishing up school and we are expecting a baby. It seems like moving closer to family is the natural thing to do. I think they understand that. Of course, they both said “nooooooo” when I told them. That’s good though. It’s much better than if they would have said “great, we can’t wait for you to leave”. LOL! In other job related news, my bosses were willing to discuss me working remotely for some time or maybe until the baby comes. This is great news for Chris and I! We will take any income we can get!
Chris and I are both excited about moving back to Georgia; however, there are a few things up in the air right now. Unfortunately, the job that Chris accepted with Bain and Company isn’t set to start until the end of January 2010. Ick! That leaves us wondering what June through January is going to hold for us. We do have options, which is something not everyone can say. As of right now, we are going to be moving in with my parents once we move from Boston at the end of June. I know that living with my parents is going to provide a lot of help and support before and after Baby J arrives. It will be nice to be so close!
As great as that sounds, the optimal solution would be for Chris to find a paid externship/internship that would start in July and last through January or at least December. The income would definitely help us a lot, especially with insurance expenses. And, we want have to eat into all the savings that we were planning to put down on a house. If he is able to find an interim job, then we will probably move straight to Atlanta to an apartment. The apartment part is very unfortunate since we were hoping to buy a home, but I know that the home purchasing process will be just around the corner from us and it will probably be much easier to purchase something while living in Georgia instead of having to travel back and forth from Boston to find something we like.
So, for all our Georgia peeps, get excited! Chris and I will be Georgians once again come July!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A warm weekend.....FINALLY!
Okay, onto the weekend…..Saturday morning we headed out to Everett to grab breakfast at Panera Bread (of course we had our favorite bagel, Cinnamon Crunch with Hazelnut cream cheese) and then we made our way over to Babies “R” Us to register for some much needed items for Baby J. I had spent a good bit of time prior to Saturday researching items on Consumer Reports and looking at lists of things that a baby requires. I assumed that this would be just like a wedding registry, lots of fun! Well, registering for Baby J was not nearly as fun as expected. I mean, registering for your wedding is a wish list of items that you would love to have in your home, while registering for a baby is about making sure you get the safest items for Baby J and items that work the best. This proved to be extremely hard.
Some items on the registry checklist were extremely easy for us to choose, playard, exerciser, bumbo, diaper genie, and boppy. All of these items were just a question of which one do we like better or which one does Consumer Reports recommend. The items that proved to be most difficult for us to choose were the bottles, car seat, and stroller. We have NO idea what we are going to go with for these items. For bottles, I have absolutely no idea which ones are best. And, we can only have the best for Baby J. For the car seat and stroller, I know that Graco is one of the highest ranked on Consumer Reports, but we can’t find any that we actually like the look of. Ah, so frustrating. I am sure that we will figure it out soon enough! Wish us luck! Oh, and if you have any suggestions for bottles, diapers, etc., it would be much appreciated!
After an exhausting registering trip to Babies “R” Us, we headed back home to eat some lunch before making our way outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. We took an extra long walk down by the Charles River where tons of people were out sun bathing or just enjoying the weather. We made our way to Harvard Square, going into a few shops and picking up an Orange Limeade for me. I was craving lemonade, so this hit the spot. It was so nice to be out without needing to put on my North Face fleece. I hope that I can now retire it for the season.
We spent Saturday evening playing board games with friends. Sunday was spent doing laundry and going to the grocery store and taking a nice drive up the coast of Massachusetts. It was so great to smell the salt water. I can’t wait for our first beach trip. I am hoping that it stays warm up here for a while so that we can get in some beach time. Today got to a sweltering 92 degrees in Boston. That's craziness for up here in April, although are back to a high in the 60s for the next few weeks. Now, that's typical Boston. That was our weekend in a nutshell. I hope you all had a great one too!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Whoa!
As for me, well, I'll just let you see for yourself. The "whoa" from the post title refers to what you are about to see below...................................
Where did that come from? Maybe it's the shirt? Yeah, it's the shirt, lol! Baby J is obviously still squished in my lower abdomen.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Happy Anniversary!
The past four years with Chris have been wonderful! We've definitely done a lot together in our four years of marriage. We started out in sunny Florida for two years where we worked for the same company and enjoyed weekend trips to Disney and lounging around like most Floridians do. We decided to leave the sunshine state to relocate to Boston when Chris was accepted to HBS. We made the move from Melbourne, FL to Summerville, GA and then the big move from Summerville to Cambridge, MA. The last two years in Boston have been an extremely fun and exciting time in our marriage. We have made wonderful friends here and genuinely enjoy living here (aside from the extended cold spells). Now, we are preparing ourselves for the biggest adventure of all.....parenthood. I know that year 5 of our marriage is going to be one of the most exciting years of our lives and I can't wait! I love you babe! I hope you have a great day!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
A Visit from Chris' Parents
Isabella Stewart Gardner was a lover of art. She was friends with many artists and writers of her time. She traveled the world collecting works of art that she would eventually display in Fenway Court, which she built specifically for this. This place was so incredible. There was art covering every single wall of the three story museum. The courtyard was probably the most impressive part of the museum. It was beautiful, definitely a place that we would’ve all liked to hangout in for the afternoon.
After the museum, we drove to Davis Square to grab some Boston barbecue and sweet tea. I have to say that Red Bones is a good place to get your southern food fix and we all enjoyed our lunch. After lunch, we made our way back to our place to rest up for the evening ahead. We had Green Monster tickets!
The Red Sox played the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night, an evening that was supposed to be drenched with rain. Thankfully, the rain didn’t begin until we were almost home after the game. Chris and I were extremely excited about having Green Monster tickets and we were happy that his parents got to join us on this adventure. I have to say that we were somewhat disappointed in being on the Green Monster. We did have to stand the entire game, so that may have had something to do with it. But, we found that the view is not nearly as good as if you are in the regular seating. There just isn’t the same feeling because there are fewer people up there. I am glad that we saw a game from atop the Green Monster, but I think we will stick to regular seats from now on.
22 Weeks
22 weeks pregnant as of yesterday! Baby J is approximately 11 inches long and almost a WHOLE pound. He is actually starting to look like a miniature newborn now. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct and he’s even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises still lack pigment. If we could see Baby J now, he would have very deep wrinkles on his skin, which he’ll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in.
As you can see in the picture below, I am still maintaining the low baby bump. I am definitely carrying low, which I hear is pretty lucky right now since I am not having problems with acid reflux just yet. While the old wives’ tale says that carrying low indicates a boy, I think it is just a coincidence. Science says that it is based on the strength of the uterine muscles that determine whether or not you carry high or low. I am not sure if that means mine are weak or what, but I do know that Baby J continues to sit very low in my stomach. However, I did feel him near my belly button for the first time today.
I just read on Babycenter.com that at this point in time in the pregnancy, I will start to lose less hair. This is probably not a problem for most women, but I already have way too much hair. I don’t know how I am going to manage it if it gets any thicker. Also, they say that if stretch marks are in my future, then I will probably start to see them within the next few weeks. Oh, how I hope they stay away!
Please ignore the lack of makeup, lol!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
22 Week Checkup (Although we all know I won't hit 22 weeks until Monday though.)
Ugh, I guess I should have been expecting the scale to jump a good amount, because since my last visit 4 weeks ago Chris and I spent a week in Georgia with lots of home cooked meals and eating out and we haven’t been quite as diligent as we normally are about cooking healthy meals. You all have definitely been deceived by my belly pics. I have gained almost 6 pounds in 4 weeks!!! Yes, 6 pounds. So ridiculous! As of this visit, I have gained a total of 10.6 pounds. Obviously, if I gain one pound per week from here on out, then I will pushing weight gain of 29 pounds. Now, I know that this is perfectly healthy, but I am just concerned about having another 6 pound month. It CANNOT happen. Chris and I have got to get back on the healthy train and fast!
Other than the weight gain, everything else looks great and is progressing normally. The doctor even measured my belly for the first time today and he said that I am around 22cm, which is right on for where I am in the pregnancy. So, until next time, Baby J will just continue to grow big and strong. I am sincerely dreading my next visit in 4 weeks which will consist of the fun glucose test to test for gestational diabetes. They gave me the orange drink today at the doctor’s office to take home with me. It makes me a little nauseous just looking at it, lol!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
21 Weeks
Babycenter.com indicates that I may soon feel like he’s practicing martial arts in my belly. I think he started that a few weeks back, lol! He definitely lets me know that he is in there. Below is a belly pic that we took yesterday.
Is that the Chick-fil-A that we stuffed ourselves with yesterday morning or is that a baby in there?!?! Baby J, of course (and partially Chick-fil-A)!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Special Delivery for Baby J
We opened the box to find the following.........
Isn't he the cutest thing you have ever seen? I know Baby J is going to love him!
Thanks Mekenzie for stuffing Scruffy with love! We can't wait for Baby J to meet him!
Close-up of Scruffy. Too cute and too soft!
Aside from Scruffy being incredibly soft and cuddly, he also pants and barks when you press his belly. Chris and I held him up to my belly so Baby J could hear him. I am pretty sure he got excited about hearing Scruffy talk to him. Thanks to Mekenzie, Amanda and Derek for the extremely sweet gift! It won't be too long before Baby J will get to meet him.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
A fun weekend with family in Boston!
Saturday morning we made our way to the Boston Museum of Science. I have been asking Chris about going there for a long time, so I was glad to finally have an excuse to go. There were many cool exhibits and our nephews really enjoyed seeing everything. Gavin was super excited about seeing the dinosaurs and Griffin seemed to be taking it all in. Chris and I will have to go back sometime, because there are so many science related activities that we missed. We are both nerds in that way.
Sunday was a much more pleasant day than Saturday in terms of the weather, and thankfully it was because we spent the majority of the day outside. We started the day off with a tour of Fenway Park. We discovered while at the Museum of Science that Fenway Park is the biggest tourist attraction in Boston and the Museum of Science is second. I was glad that they were able to see both. I decided to sit out the tour of Fenway, but I heard that some Yankee fan basically tried to ruin the tour for everyone. How rude?!?! I think that everyone ended up enjoying it though!
It was a long and exhausting day walking all over Boston, but I think we hit all the highlights for a short weekend trip. It is so hard to see the entire city in such a short amount of time, but I think we gave them a good look into the place we call home. We were all so exhausted that we ended up staying in on Sunday night. We ordered yummy pizza and calzones from Cinderella's and played the Wii. It was a fun evening.
On Monday, Chris took his cousin Lauren to his classes and then treated the entire gang to a tour of HBS. They said that Griffin was amazed by the library, which is a building at HBS that I have yet to enter yet! After touring campus, they all went to Harvard Square to eat burgers at Mr. Bartley’s. They all got slightly drenched on the way home and played some more Wii before heading to the airport in the afternoon.
We really enjoyed having them in town and we hope that they enjoyed their first visit to Boston!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Only 20 weeks to go!
At 20 weeks, he weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now and is about 10 inches from head to bottom. This is about the length of a banana. I have to say that with the force I feel him moving, I think he is probably bigger than this. I guess we will see where he ends up on the weight scale in due time. He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system.
On the topic of feeling him moving, he has continued to be active throughout last week and into this week. I am starting to feel his movements more and more often. It stills catches me be surprise everytime I feel him. A pretty cool thing happened this past Friday, Chris actually felt the baby move for the first time! It was so great for him to be able to share in this experience with me. I am sure he will get to feel him many times to come as he continues to grow big and strong!
As of this week, we are going to switch up the time in which we take the belly pics. From now on we will take belly pics on Mondays. Mondays are when I rollover with pregnancy weeks. This probably makes more sense, so that we can see a more accurate picture of where I stand at the start of the weeks instead of at the end. You never know if I will end up seeing the last half of 40 weeks, which would mean that I would be almost 41 weeks. So, I know you just saw 19 weeks today, but below are pics for 20 weeks. I hope I haven't grown too much in the four days since I took the 19 weeks picture!
This picture probably shows the belly a little better than the pic from 19 weeks.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Baby J's Clothes
The doggie sleeper/play outfit is probably Chris' favorite. He had to have a closeup picture of the doggie feet.
I am sure Baby J will be just that!
Another purchase that I plan to make for our little Baby J are baby leg warmers. I noticed a pic of our friends' daughter with a pair on and they are too darn cute. He has to have a pair. I think Chris thinks they are a little feminine, but I think as long as we go with a masculine color he will be looking too cool in the leg warmers! The leg warmers below are from BabyLegs.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Baby J Becomes Active
I have really been looking forward to actually feeling him for quite sometime. I know that I won’t worry near as much when I can feel him move each day. It will just give me the peace of mind that everything is going well in there.
At 19 weeks, our baby boy’s brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear our voices now, which means that all of the talking Chris does with him every night is not a waste of time. I am sure Baby J is also enjoying my singing on the way to and from work, lol!
Baby J is currently about 8 ½ ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom. He is about the size of a large heirloom tomato. In other developments, hair on his scalp is sprouting. Who knows what color it will be? I think my best guess would be brown, but you never know.
For me, I was happy to read the following statement in my weekly update from Babycenter.com, “You'll start growing even faster in the weeks to come. As a result, you may notice some achiness in your lower abdomen or even an occasional brief, stabbing pain on one or both sides — especially when you shift position or at the end of an active day. Most likely, this is round ligament pain. The ligaments that support your uterus are stretching to accommodate its increasing weight. This is nothing to be alarmed about, but call your practitioner if the pain continues even when you're resting or becomes severe.” This past weekend, I started to notice a little bit of pain in my lower abdomen. I was a little concerned but it never lasted for very long. This email couldn’t have come at a better time.