eating while pregnant

today for lunch i had:


spanish rice

a hot wing w\ blue cheese dressing

a slice of pizza

and some chili cheese dip w\ chips

1. i should've known all along I was having a boy. 2. what is wrong with me and how is this baby going to come out. 3. I hope this doesn't have an ill-effect on my stomach at work tonight...

Week 24- Baby Boy Ear of Corn

How your baby's growing: Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

How your life's changing: In the past few weeks, the top of your uterus has risen above your belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball.Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between now and 28 weeks (Mine is October 21). This test checks for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition. Untreated diabetes increases your risk of having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow too large, especially in his upper body. It also raises your baby's odds for other complications like low blood sugar right after birth. A positive result on your GCT doesn't mean you have gestational diabetes, but it does mean that you'll need to take the glucose tolerance test (GTT) to find out for sure.

from BabyCenter

Baby: Your baby continues to grow and develop inside of you. He is now about the size of an ear of corn; measuring 12 inches long and weighing a little over 1 pound. In the coming weeks, your baby will continue to grow and mature a fast rate, gaining about 6 ounces of weight a week.
His brain is growing rapidly and his taste buds are developing. He is pretty lean at 24 weeks, but he'll soon be putting on some "baby fat" to fill out his frame and his wrinkled skin. He has begun to develop white blood cells. These cells are responsible for fighting off disease and infection.
His lungs develop branches this week and his inner ear is completely developed. In fact, he has basic control over all of his senses: hearing, touch, taste, smell and vision!

from Planning Family

It's officially month 6!

sticks and stones

i wish that old saying was true in my life- but it isn't. I don't have nerves of steel. I can't just ignore what people say, or don't say. i can't just let someone be so rude to me, and just pretend it never happened. it hurts me. it's ridiculous, but every stranger who is rude to me, hurts me. you don't know me, i never did anything to you, and you have no right to act this way to me. i'm pregnant which = horomonal and emotional. i don't need to come home from work and cry in my car for 20 minutes b\c some moron that I'm never going to see again yelled at me for something I didn't even do, or refused to even acknowledge my existence as a human being.

how about a little human kindess?

Good Buys, Hello!

Unfortunately, Dave & I are not rich. We had planned to be, but it hasn't worked out that way for us yet. Especially since we moved up here 4 months ago, found out we were pregnant a week after we moved up here, have yet to sell or rent our house in Atlanta, and I was unable to find work that was comparable to my fabulous job in Atlanta.

Having a baby is stressful enough, having a baby and paying a mortgage on an empty house 700+ miles away, while living with your in laws in their spare bedroom while the rest of your stuff sits in storage and you're trying to get rid of said empty house so you can move out of in laws house and into new house in 9 months is even more stressful.

Needless to say, we need all the bargains we can get. It started when I read Baby Bargains. I finished this book- all 600 pages in a little over a week, obsessively underlining and earmarking pages of what would be safest and most cost-efficient for Us + Baby. As we registered, I carried the book with me and un-earmarked as husband scanned things in. We discussed what things we felt like we should buy ourselves, what things we could buy used and off we went. We've done pretty good so far.

1. Maternity Clothes- most women can spend upwards of $500-$600 on clothes they will only wear for a few months. I first hit up Goodwill this summer looking for bargains and picked up some cute tops, then husband got me a $50 gift card to Motherhood- which I saved for fall clothes since I knew i'd spend the majority of my pregnancy in freezing temperatures! Then I hit the jackpot- a friend of ours from my parents church had just given birth in May, and she had tons of maternity clothes- would I like them?! OF COURSE! When my parents came to visit in August they lugged w\ them 2 black garbage bags full of summer/fall/winter maternity clothes w\ about 10 pairs of pants. Needless to say, I'm set. I may add a few things in here and there, but I'm pretty much good to go. On top of this, we've spent maybe $100 on our own- Savings of $400-$500!!

2. Glider Rocker- Let me just say those things are expensive. They can run up to $1,200 at PBK! I don't think so. Even a glider rocker at Target or Walmart can run up to $350- I'm sorry, but I'm saving my $350 for a Medela Pump In Style (or so I hope)... I hit up Craig's List to look for a rocker, and I found a pretty sweet deal- $50! Even better- it was in pretty much new condition, and it came with an ottoman. It looks unused! We'll just say I saved $200-$300!

Here's our awesome like-new glider rocker!




3. Amby Baby Motion Bed- My friend Brittany told me about this bed, and then I read about it in the Baby Bargains book. They recommended that it was something you can buy used, so I figured, of course! The Amby Bed is awesome. It's a hanging hammock that's womb-like to help your newborn sleep, plus the positioning also is supposed to help with colic, and reflux. A little side note about how awesome the Amby is supposed to be- it's sold out for the next 20 days on their website. I really wanted this bed for our baby, the cost- packages start at $237. I've been searching on Craig's List for an Amby for a while- Craig's List tip- if you can, wait. Things will go down in price. We had been watching an Amby for a while, and once it went down in price, we sprang on it- made an offer $20 lower, and scored! So Monday night we drove into the city and picked up our Amby for $120!! Savings- $140!
Here's the Amby Bed! Can't wait until we have a house to set it up in!!

(photo removed)

Those are just the beginning of my baby bargains (I hope)!!

Week 23- Baby Boy Large Mango (b\c I think we were a mango at least 6 weeks ago)...

How your baby's growing: Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

from BabyCenter

Your baby continues to grow and develop inside of you. He is now about the size of a mango, measuring 11 inches long and weighing about 1 pound. In the coming weeks, your baby will continue to grow and mature at a fast rate, gaining about 6 ounces of weight a week. By week 23, the blood vessels in his lungs, important for breathing outside the womb, are developing. His lips are becoming more distinct and his eyes continue to develop, though they still lack color. Also, by this week, the bones in his middle ear start to harden. His skin is still wrinkled but the pigments that will give his skin color are currently being deposited.

from PlanningFamily

Good Buys coming later

Of course I need new _______, I'm pregnant...

I don't need an excuse to shop, and pregnancy hasn't been any different. Although I have promised my husband I wouldn't buy anymore underwear or bras, and that I wouldn't buy any shoes b\c it's likely my feet would swell (I must have been drugged when I agreed to this)- I never agreed not to buy anything else. Although I must admit- I have been a lucky pregnant woman b\c I received 2 garbage bags stuffed to the brim with maternity clothes- and stylish maternity clothes at that. Liz Lange, Ann Taylor Loft, Duo, Oh, Baby!, and some of my favorites- Gap. Between that treasure trove, a few very picky selections made at Goodwill and some purchases of my own- I'm finishing up summer, and ready to roll right into winter (i can't wait to wear the sweaters that she sent). All I need is a few cute winter dresses, and more than likely a coat- which is sad because I own 7 winter coats, but it does give me an excuse to get the coat I don't have- a grey coat! I think I'm going to have to renege on my promise not to buy shoes though- I just don't think heels are going to work for me in the end of my pregnancy, so of course I need flat boots. Yes, I did just say I don't want to wear heels, but I love the peep toe booties- I first saw a pair I wanted last fall at Forever 21, and I should've snatched them up, because I can't find anything that looks similar to them that is Forever 21-affordable.

Along with coloring my hair, I also bought new makeup and I've been very excited about that. When I was selling mk, I loved the day/night solution and tinted moisturizer, but I have used up my reserves, and I'm done w\ selling mk. Unless I can find another consultant who will give me a consultants discount, I'm done w\ it! So I've been venturing out into the makeup world for a first time in a loooong time. I'm happy to say that I finally broke down and bought a primer, and some new foundation, and so far, I'm impressed. I think I finally have that pregnancy "glow" that everyone talks about! My husband should really just take away any forms of credit or debit cards, cash & checks.

bye bye greys

So the whole routine of glancing at my hair and seeing something shiny glistening from the roots that isn't blonde was getting a little old. From the tiny grey hairs that were only about an inch long, to those that were full-length- they had spread on my scalp like wildfire. I feel like I'm too young to have grey hair anyway- and I had them prior to becoming pregnant, but pregnancy seems to make my scalp a breeding ground for greys. They've probably at least doubled since becoming pregnant. Here I've been waiting for my hair to grow longer, stronger, more luxurious, and it's growing- in grey. I finally reached my breaking point the other night, when I had just spent the previous night pulling out several greys and there were even more! I decided I was going to color my hair. I did all the research and found that it was safe to color, and off I went. It was fairly easy, just stinky! I now appear to be grey-free, and that I can live with! Anything that makes a pregnant woman look/feel better I'm all for!