Friday, February 27, 2015

16 weeks!


How far along/ How many days/ weeks left: 16 wks! 24 more weeks to go! Almost half way there! Ek! 168 days to go. 

Weight gain: if anything a few lbs, I go in Monday for an appt, I'll find out then. Rory says my body is shifting, and I feel it!

Maternity Clothes: I'm wearing a few shirts, they're so comfortable! I'm also using the hair band trick on some of my smaller pants. This belly is growing! 

How do I feel: Still pretty gaggy, but doing ok. This is the first week I've felt " pregnant" things are shifting around in my belly and I feel the pressure of my new resident. 

What I miss: nothing too crazy

Sleep: doing great! 

Cravings: cheese it's 

Movement: Nothing yet! I am really trying to be sensitive to anything as I lay down and sit quietly during the day. I can't wait to feel this baby!

Mamma thoughts: We are reading to the baby at night, and I'm playing a worship lullaby cd that I purchased on Amazon. I love being able to influence peace and calm night time routines. I'm hoping to start a pattern and calmness that comes with the evening and settling down. I'm also so curious to know how the baby's brain develops as it hears words and musical tones. 

Additional Information:Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. 

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Inspiration for the nursery 2.0


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Currently on a really calm, cool, whites, grays, blacks, basket/ bamboo,& stripes kick for the nursery. I am currently swoooooning over Fiddle Leaf Fig trees, and found one at Home Depot today, potted, for only $20! I also remember, while gazing dreamily at photo of Mexico today on instagram, how much I loved the basket lamps that hung all over the tiny town we Honeymooned in and how often I mentioned to Rory about how I REALLY wanted a few in our home, I liked them a lot. The photo above has long, straight lamps, I'm going to look for a rounded closed basket lamp to hang in the corner of the nursery with a very soft bulb, to use in the wee hours or at bedtime. After baby is born, I will add more feminine touches or more masculine ones. Like subtle yellows, corals or pinks for a little gal, and blues, greens and black for a little man. I Like these inspiration boards:





15 Weeks!


How Far along: 15 weeks! 175 days to go!

Weight: Lost 3 lbs

How Do I feel: My sense of smell and my gag reflex has been heightened this week. I've had to fight back the pukes far too often this week. I have ways of coping: breathing deep, drinking ice cold water, and avoiding smells that make me want to puke. Basically anything " smelly" and somethings that aren't smelly. Loading the washing machine, smelling the coffee pot on the counter the other day, rotten citrus, the trash can. Yikes just writing about these smells makes me feel sick :-( Pregnancy is such a roller coaster! Everyday is different! A friend did share with me that a growth hormone causes the nausea, which helps to get though it knowing the baby is growing!

What I miss: Feeling " normal." Like I said these last few weeks have been pretty "gaggy".

Sleep: I'm sleeping great. Nothing to report here! Praise the Lord.

Cravings: Yesterday was Chalupa's from Taco Bell! And oh my those tasted great. My citrus craving has subsided, maybe the baby and I just need extra Vitamin C last week. My appetite has really slowed down this week too, I am trying to eat a little more at each meal then I " feel" like, because I have only lost weight in the last few weeks.

Movement: Nothing yet! So anxious to sense and feel this little one inside of me. Soon enough. Soon enough. My app says between 15-20 weeks is pretty typical for feeling baby move. The app says some women compare it to " gas, butterflies, or popcorn popping."


Mama Thoughts: This last week I've been pretty emotional, feel intense feelings of love and excitement for the journey ahead. I've recently had so much peace when thinking about having a little one. I cannot wait to feel this baby move inside of me, to see it's sweet face and to be able to kiss our babies sweet little cheeks. I am so looking forward to Motherhood. I'm still feeling very natural about having a girl, but the more I think about and ponder on having a little boy, the more natural it feels. We have our girl name picked out, it's a name I'm %100 crazy about, we have yet to pick out a boy name that either of us adore. We have a few top contenders on both the girl and boy list of names, and I don't want to decide until I see that baby, but boy names are much harder for us to tack down!

Additional Information: " Your baby now measures roughly 4 inches, crown to rump, and weights in at approx. 2.5 ounces ( about the size of an apple) He or she is busy moving amniotic fluid through the nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the lungs being to develop. Your baby's legs are growing longer then His arms now and He or She can move those tiny joints and limbs." 


Friday, February 13, 2015

14 Wks


How far along: 14 weeks, 182 days to go!

How do I feel: this last week has been my.most exhausting yet. Lots of sleeping in,naps, and crashing early. My gag reflex has also been ultra sensitive this week,smells are a nightmare. 

Momma thoughts: %80 of me wants to stick to my "not finding out the gender" guns, Wand the other %20 of me is dying to know! Its the not knowing that is hardest. I wish I had ANY idea what this baby is! 
My appetite has changed this week, instead of waking up hungry, its taken me  longer to feel hungry & I haven't eaten as much.


Maternity Clothes: None yet

Sleep: LOTS. Two naps on thursday! Ive had less to do this week, which gives me more time to sleep, which is good and not good. It makes me realize how tired I really am, normally I have a little rest throughout the day, but have a lot to go do, so I power through. 

Cravings: Sweet/ Tart! Lemonade! I came straight home after work yesterday and made a big ole mason jar of fresh squeezed lemonade with fresh strawberries. Yum!


Movement: nothing yet

Weight gain: down three lbs

What I miss: nothing much this week.

Additonal Info: 
We had an appt today at Kaiser and I'm the picture of a healthy pregnancy! Our baby's heartbeat sounds healthy and everything looks great!! Praise the Lord.
Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him -- a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches -- about the size of a lemon -- and weighs 1 1/2 ounces.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

My Journey: Part 2



read part one here


What does all of this mean for me?: The biggest thing I have learned about myself in these last (almost) 30 years is that I do better as a juggler then a uni-cyclist. I like to have a lot of plates spinning, and trust me, I didn't always do this very well. I have learned to juggle, beautifully. I am not a sitter, or a waiter, I'm a doer. I thrive when I have my hand in many things, wearing many hats. I have realized this over the years, when stuck in one job, or one role, I feel exactly that, stuck. No wiggle room. I like movement, space, jobs, roles, projects knowing who I am, how I thrive and what makes me feel alive and free, helped me to realize that is exactly the Mother I want to be: myself. I didn't want to loose myself in a role. Now before you begin to tell me that I will feel that way no matter what, I know there's a very short window in the beginning of baby's life, where I will feel like my life is all breastfeeding and changing and no sleep. I know that lasts SUCH a short while & I'm determined not to let that get me down... I will stay home for a while with our babies, to care and nurture them. But I also have a secret weapon: Rory. Now if you know my hubby you know how amazing He is. How hands on, attentive, caring and loving He is. AND how anxious He was to be a Papa. Sorry girls, He doesn't have any brothers... He is SO supportive of my journey in my education, and choosing a career for my and my children's sake. I believe that's what I've done. I've chose a career not just for my enjoyment and benefit, but for my Children, I value showing my kids that they're A: not my end all, and B: that  I value helping my community and bettering myself in a field that excites me!

I know this is a lot to digest, and trust me, this has been a two (ish) year discovery for me, I know this will evolve as I become a Mom and journey into that very special part of who God created me to be. 

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

i dream in baby gap: baby boy edition



envisioning a blonde chubby boy in all of these (insert googly heart eyes here)


ly








I dream in baby gap: Baby Girl Edition

Can I get one of each in my size please???
swoon






Inspiration for a unique nursery:

It has been a dream of mine for years to have a wall papered or patterned wall in my Child's nursery. We rent, so unfortunately we cannot wall paper, but we can pattern with paint.We are going to wall paper the back of the armoire that the baby will use. Here are some fun patterns that I've fallen in love with so far. I have a few more ideas on my //baby// board on Pinterest if you're interested. 
Here's a little tutorial on You Tube to help you understand how this neat product works.





Sunday, February 8, 2015

My Journey Into Motherhood:


My journey into motherhood wasn't a smooth road. I asked a lot of questions before we took the deep plunge into having a baby. I saw some Mothers around me loosing their identity in their new baby, or Child. That was something I knew I didn't want. I have made it a point to really ask hard questions about why I wanted babies, and what that meant for me, in my future. I didn't want to raise Children out of obligation to my husband or anyone for that matter. I sought out wisdom from women who I respected in my church and family. I inquired about career and children. What does it mean if I really do want to have a career and babies? What does it mean if I really don't want to home school after all? When I was younger I had my heart set on babies by 20, home schooling, and everything that comes along with that. By the time I started heading into my later 20's I started to realize that I didn't want some of the things I so closely held to, and really did want to figure out what kind of Mother I am going to be.

Careers & Mothers: I used to look down on Mom's who chose to have a career and Children. Could someone really have both? What about their kids? Their husbands? Themselves? How did these women still cook or clean? I saw a lot of bad example of women who chose career over children's needs. Their children suffered. I saw women who chose their children over all else, and their children suffered too. Where was this balance I so longed for in my heart? Was it possible to have multiple plates spinning without any of them falling? I search, prayed, wrote in my journal, sought council, and sought the Lord. What is His Will for all of 
this?  The way became so much clearer the more I found answers to my hearts desires. I will not live out of fear of anyone's opinions of me, or the way I chose to raise my family. I will not doubt the Lord and His power. 

I hate long blog posts.... so I'm going to save the rest of this conversation for another Post.

-Stay Tuned-


Saturday, February 7, 2015

Gender wives tales


Since we are choosing to wait till we meet our baby to find out the gender, I thought it'd be fun to knock out some "wives tale gender hints."

  •  Baby's Heartbeat: On our last ultrasound, on January 14th, our babies heartbeat measured 167: girl
  • Cravings: Sushi ( salty and sweet): girl and boy
  • Morning Sickness: PTL no: boy
  • Emotions: Happy: boy
  • Skin: Hard to tell, since it's winter, and since I work at starbucks I keep my skin well lotioned to fight off driness ( since we wash our hands so often): neither
  • Sleep On: Naturally I sleep on my right side, facing Rory, but recently and right before I got pregnant, I starting feeling like I wanted to sleep on my left, which NEVER happened before: Boy
  • Headaches: Yes: boy

                                           out of 7: 4 boy, 1 girl, 2 neutral 

Friday, February 6, 2015

13 weeks


Baby Simmons:

How far along: 13 weeks, 189 days to go!

How does Momma feel?: This week has been ok, I got a cold while we were in SD. It's still with me, almost gone. That's hard, but i'm surviving. I've been extra tired these last few days too. Headaches are here almost daily unless I catch them early and have quiet time. Other wise energy levels are semi-normal and I feel good. Had an almost threw up everything moment after eating some pizza, but I talked myself down and walked around and got fresh air. I've only had that happen twice and I'm glad it's subsided on it's own.

Weight Gain:
Up one lb.


Movement: nothing yet


Sleep: same as last week


What I miss:  Nothing in particular. 


Cravings: I am still on my sushi kick! Hubs and I went to Mr. Sushi in the Tower District last night and the place was HOPPING. It was such a fun lively environment. And they had Thai Tea! My favorite. I am also LOVING any citrus. I eat an Orange just about everyday and I love Lemonade.

Mama Thoughts: Just a lot of love for this little one growing inside of me. And recently, been SO curious about the gender. I have a hard time imagining a boy, a girl would be a natural thing for me, and maybe it's because I saw my Momma raise only girls. I would love a girl eventually if this turns out to be a little man.

Additional info:  "Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips. Veins and organs are clearly visible through his or her still-thin skin.
Your baby's body is starting to catch up with that oversized head, which makes up just a third of his or her body size now.
If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries.
Your baby is almost 3 inches long (about the size of a pea pod) and weighs nearly an ounce." From the baby app.


What a neat thought, being a Forensic Evidence Major, thinking about my baby's finger prints forming is AMAZING and so right up my ally! 


Thursday, February 5, 2015

Happy National Nuetella Day!


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


                             
         +++Happy National Nutella Day!+++
 Hey friends! Here's a little recipe for Nutella Day. I discovered this on the site, Tastes Better from Scratch, a sweet blog, with lots of tasty recipes! Enjoy! I made two batches for our Young Adults Small group tonight, on the side are Oreos, big ole strawberries, and short bread cookies. 


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

danger at baby gap

12Weeks

{Baby "Himmer" (Him/Her) is the size of a lime}


Week 12:



  • How far along: 12 weeks ( my new week starts fridays)
  • Due Date: August 14th 2015 ( fun fact: it's the SAME day one of my best friends had her baby girl Olivia, in 2014!)
  • Total weight gain: Lost a lb.
  • Maternity clothes: Don't need them yet. I did purchase a t-shirt, button up floral short sleeved shirt, and 4 pairs of pants for $18, at my local thrift store! Score!
  • Gender: We are going to be surprised!
  • Movement: Nothing yet
  • Sleep: No changes here, I'm a very good sleeper, and thankfully nothings changed. As I move into the second trimester I'm getting up less often in the middle of the night, but I have tried to be better with drinking less water in the evenings as to avoid this hassle. 
  • What I miss: Cocktails and Beer. I have a glass of wine every so often, but it just doesn't cut it. Summer will be hard!
  • Cravings: Sushi... but I don't think this is the baby as much as the Mama :) I could eat sushi everyday and never tire of it.
  • Nursery: Just organizing and cleaning up the nursery, going to move the queen sized bed to the garage soon to make room for goodies. Our plan, because of not finding out the gender, is to keep it pretty neutral. Grey and whites, then add color/ patterns, later on. We are going to paint one wall in a neutral pattern, ie: herringbone or something similar, so it can add a little pop to our beige blah walls. Most likely the wall behind the crib. 
  • Mama Thoughts: I am so grateful for a healthy and joyful journey. So far so good! I will give you all a wks 6-11- updated later on to let you in on how I found out, and how the first weeks went when I found out... but it's been a very easy, joy-filled journey! I am also SO grateful for the timing. I wanted a Summer  Babe, and being able to see all of my family, and announce at Christmas time to my hubby and in-laws, was such a blessing. I am GRATEFUL!

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Things that caught my attention this week: #1 ( people+spaces)

              +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


First Up! A designer I realllly like: 




If we have a little boy, I want to highlight the nursery in some of these vibrant fun colors, like the blues and that spunky yellow you see on His door. This fun little living room makeover was so neato. This space whispers coastal, casual, lively, cozy. Go check Him out! And He went to UC Santa Cruz. So close to home for me! Gotta love it. 



                                                                           

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



I also LOVE reading updates and posts from this lovely New Yorker: 

Her blog is about beauty, inspiration, motherhood and being a lovely wife and woman. She is a working Mom, who values family, cooking, and spending quality time with Her husband and boys. I really like her take on a lot of things. She is a professional blogger and I love imagining her in her office in NYC thinking up fun blogs. What a doll, would love to have a glass of wine with her in real life. 



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Another fun inspiration I have is the idea of a baby moon! Ever heard of it?! You get the idea right?? Unlike a honeymoon this trip happens before baby arrives.You can bet I'm hinting to Rory that this is something I'd love...empty beaches, room service, swanky lobby and that food...swoon. This little lady, (also from NYC) and her hubby, who I've been following for years, took their trip in Vieques, Puerto Rico. swoon. If you know me you know the tropics have a special place in my heart. I watch the video of their trip often, check it out then plan your next vacation :)








Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Welcome!



                                                { Our Insta-nouncment}



I've had it in my heart for a while now to start a family blog! An archive for our Children, to enjoy, in years to come. With that said, I am 12 weeks and 6 days pregnant with our very first bundle of joy! I will use this blog to keep out of area family, and close friends, and the locals, up to date on a week to week (hopefully) basis. I want to also look back on this as a memory that I can run back to and remember all the joy we are experiencing as we become parents. 

{ Sharing the news with my Mom, Dad and Brother in early January!}


   { Sharing the news on Christmas morning with my in- laws!}



 {The wine label we made for my best friend and her hubby.}




             {The gift I gave to Rory on Christmas morning.}