Like a vintage (I mean rhinestone) cowboy...

We started planning the nursery just about the minute we found out it was a boy.  Since all the time leading up to the 20 week ultrasound I'd assured myself it was a girl, I hadn't thought much about themes for a boy's nursery.  But, now that we know it's a boy, there's no turning back, and I know as much as I love pink, there's no way it's going to make it into this boy's nursery. 

So we started by picking out furniture.  We went to baby's first furniture and were able to settle on something pretty quickly.  Here's what we ordered:

This is the crib, and we ordered it in the color pictured (an antique black).

Here's the hutch and dresser: 

We love the classic look of the furniture, and we hope/plan that this furniture will last for a long, long time.  The crib converts all the way to a full bed, so this boy is going to get many years of sleep time in this bed.  We ordered the furniture in mid-April, and it was supposed to be ready in 5-6 weeks, so we should be getting it very soon. 

The theme we're going for is vintage cowboy, and the colors I'd like to use are shades of aqua blue, rusty orange/red, and chocolate brown.  I would have loved to find crib bedding already done in this theme and colors, but I've yet to find something that fits the vision in my head, so it looks like we'll be having the bedding made.  I come from a long line of champion shoppers, so I'm hoping that with my mom and sister's help, we'll be able to settle on something very soon.   

I've found a few pictures of nurseries that I like.  Here's a color scheme I love:

Here are some super cute cowboy themed nurseries, just not quite in the color scheme I want:

Here are a few of the fabrics I'm considering:

And here's a lamp and chandelier that I'd love to find a way to make:

I'll keep you posted once I finally decide on fabrics and get the bedding ordered.  Hopefully it won't be long now!  And if anyone has input on good websites for fabric or baby bedding, please let me know. 

Week 24

Yesterday I had my 24 week appointment.  This was another very quick appointment.  They checked my blood pressure, weight, and listened to the baby's heart beat.  I was really glad about my weight.  Let's just say I went a bit food crazy at the beginning of my pregnancy, so now I'm focusing on making sure I stay within the recommended weight gain allowances for the remaining weeks.  I did really well this past month, so I'm glad my hard work and restraint paid off. 

One new thing they did was measure my belly from top to bottom.  I'm not completely sure the significance of this, but I'm pretty sure the number of centimeters your belly measures is supposed to be about the same as the number of weeks along you are.  For me, it was right on par.  My belly measured 24 centimeters, and I was exactly 24 weeks along on the day of the appointment.  I guess this means that at the end of the pregnancy, my belly should be measuing about 40 centimeters...  Yikes! 

Overall, everything looked great.  Next appointment, I'll take the glucose test to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes.  I've heard the glucose drink is not very tasty, so that will be an interesting experience.  I'm praying hard I don't have gestational diabetes- mainly because I know it's not good for me or the baby, but also because I am NOT a happy camper if I am not allowed free reign to eat lots and lots of carbs.  Carbs and I are good friends. 

I'm still working out 5-6 times a week, and in general, enjoying it. Using the elliptical machine feels just about normal to me, but running became a lot more difficult right about when I hit 20 weeks. If I go slow enough, it's fine, but if I go anywhere above a really slow jog, it's not pleasant at all. So, if you see a pregnant lady jogging really really really slowly, possibly also with an impatient dog, it's probably me! I'm going to keep it up for as long as I can; hopefully it will be for many more weeks. 

To sum it up, at 24 weeks, I'm defintiely feeling large, but overall, doing great.  I need to post a new belly picture soon, so hopefully I'll get that done this weekend.

And it's a....

BOY! 

We went to have the 20 week ultrasound on April 13th.  As advised by my friend Katy, I made sure to drink something sugary beforehand.  My beverage of choice was orange Fanta, and wow, this baby didn't know what to make of it.  I don't usually drink soda unless it's diet, and haven't been drinking even diet soda throughout the pregnancy (ok, fine, maybe I did have 1 diet coke in a moment of weakness).  So I think baby Smith was a little surprised by the all sugar and carbonation.  He was moving around like crazy right at the time of the appointment.  I got a little worried that the sugar was going to wear off; they were running over an hour behind on their schedule.  But, come ultrasound time, thankfully, baby was still very active. 

The first part of the ultrasound, I was with the ultrasound technician by myself.  She took all of the needed measurements, and it was so fun getting to see baby for so long.  The technician did check the anatomy to determine if it was a boy or a girl, but since Wyatt wasn't in the room with me yet, I opted to wait until he joined me to find out. 

At this point, Wyatt was allowed into the room.  The radiologist came in and did a detailed scan of the heart.  He said that at this point in the pregnancy, the baby's heart is the size of your pinky fingernail.  Amazing!  He zoomed in on the heart and was able to show us how the blood was flowing into the different chambers of the heart and in different directions.  It's so amazing how intricate the human body is, even at this stage, and how we as humans have absolutely no control over or part in it.  God is definitely a god of creation and details!

After the radiologist gave us the thumbs up and said everything looked good, it was time for the big reveal.  The ultrasound technician gave Wyatt a look at the baby and showed him hands, feet and head.  During this part, the technician caught baby pulling on the umbilical cord, and we were able to see it too.  I'm pretty sure baby was yanking in an effort to get more orange Fanta, but I'd run out of my supply by that point.  Sorry baby!

Finally, the moment arrived, and the ultrasound technician showed us that it was definitely a boy!  I was pretty shocked.  I told myself beforehand that I didn't know what it was and I was happy either way, and while the latter was and still is true, I think I was expecting a girl more than I'd admitted to myself.  I don't know why, but I'd convinced myself that it was a girl, so when she said it was definitely a boy, I asked "are you sure?"  Almost all of our friends and family have boys, so I guess in my mind, assuming the odds amongst our circle of friends and family are collective, it was likely to be a girl.  But, not so!  It's a boy, and although it took me a while to get used to the idea, we are definitely excited and beyond blessed. 

Wyatt is excited to have a future hunting, fishing, and general man-activity partner, and I'm so excited just to get to know this baby boy and to figure out what boys are all about. 

Here are some pictures from the ultrasound:

The feet...

Hands...

3d profile...looks a little funny, but it's fun to see his face...

Profile...

And another profile.  It looks like he's either sucking his thumb here or ready to punch something.

 After the ultrasound, we went for our regular appointment with the doctor, and it was very quick.  They took my blood pressure, listened to the baby's heart beat, and checked my weight (my least favorite part).  My doctor reviewed the ultrasound report and said everything looked great! 

We then sent out mass text messages to let people know the news, which was a lot of fun.  We called my parents who were still in Israel on a trip, and they were very excited. 

Now it's on to picking out names, nursery themes, furniture, and all that other fun stuff.  Lots of decisions to be made!  We are excited and so thankful. 

Week 19

Today I am officially at 19 weeks- so close to being at the halfway mark!  I am still feeling great so no complaints there.  The main thing I've noticed lately is that I'm having some problems with balance.  I was on the elliptical machine yesterday working out and I had to grab the handlebars at least twice to keep myself from totally falling off.  You wouldn't think the elliptical machine would be a high risk exercise, but I guess for me, at this stage, it is.  I took Ellie running on Wednesday and I think she was happy that I was moving slower than usual.  Pretty soon she's probably going to be dragging me down the sidewalk.   

All the books say that swimming is a great exercise to do while pregnant, so I'm hoping to start back up on that again.  I swam a fair amount last spring and summer to train for a triathlon, so it will be good to get back into it.  I have no idea where to find a maternity swim suit for swimming laps, so I'm sure that's going to be an adventure in and of itself.  We'll see what I find, but DON'T expect to see any pictures of it. 

Baby is moving a lot still, which I love.  The other day I was driving in to work, listening to some cheezy pop song, and baby seemed to love it.  I don't usually feel baby move in the morning at all, so this child must be a fan of dorky pop just like mama.  Wyatt, looks like you may be in for it!

We have our big ultrasound this coming Tuesday (4/13), where they'll check to see if baby is a boy or a girl, and also scan baby's anatomy to make sure everything is developing normally.  We are so excited the day is finally drawing close! 

At 19 weeks, baby is supposed to be about the size of a large heirloom tomato now, about 8 1/2 ounces.  Too bad we don't have a garden right now or I just might have an example of what this looks like.

Week 17

I'm at 17 weeks 2 days now, and still feeling great.  I had another checkup on Friday, and everything was good.  Baby's heart beat was at a strong 150 BPM.  I was so happy Wyatt was there with me for this appointment; this was his first time hearing the heart beat.  It is so reassuring to hear that baby is doing well.  I had another round of blood drawn for more tests; we should get results at our next appointment. 

The next appointment I'll have is the one where we'll find out if it's a boy or girl, so the time is definitely drawing near.  We are ready to know!

Either I'm highly delusional or I've been regularly feeling baby kick since this Wednesday.  It's been the same feeling since it first started, and although it's getting more regular, it's still a bit of a strange feeling.  It's crazy that something that small can exert enough force that you can feel it.  According to a baby website, this week baby is about the size of a turnip (around 5 ounces). 

Here's a picture of me yesterday, at 17 weeks 1 day.

I think it's safe to say I'm showing now...

Houston, we (think we) have baby movement!

I'm pretty positive I first felt the baby move yesterday.  I was at work, and I felt a definite wiggling, almost the feeling of someone tapping me on my belly (but of course, it was in my belly).  It happened probably 8 times within a couple of minutes.  I'm almost positive this was the real deal because it was a definite feeling of movement, not just a faint flutter (like a muscle twitch), and it felt like it was happening in the right place (rather than underneath my rib).  It was so exciting to feel; my heart actually started racing.  I'm hoping to keep feeling these from here on out, mainly because it helps me know that baby is doing well, but also slightly to prove to myself that I'm not totally delusional. 

I am excited for a fun weekend.  Wyatt and I are off to a date night tonight.  We may even be crazy and go see a movie after dinner.  We'll see. 

Happy (almost) weekend everyone! 

Random Encounter

So this past weekend I went to Austin to visit my sister.  We did a lot of shopping, eating, and lounging, so all in all, it was a great time.  One funny/disturbing incident that I have to share.

My sister and I go to Target on Friday evening, looking for various things that are on our list (and no, the movie New Moon was not on the list, why do you ask?).  As we're in the entertainment section (again, not desperately searching for New Moon and wondering why it isn't on the shelves yet), we witness a family's inner workings in the video games aisle. 

There's a mom, a boy (maybe 10 years old?) and two other siblings (I think).  The boy is holding up a video game and is on the cell phone at the same time.  The mom is looking on.  The boy says "Hi dad, can I have this video game?"  (Can't remember what the name of it was.)  "It's rated R for extreme violence, blood, nudity, sexual situations, adult situations..."   And I think he even listed a few other items after that, I just can't remember what they were.  His mom is just standing by her son through all of this, calmly awaiting a decision. 

I didn't stay to see what happened (kind of wish I had now).  As I walked off, my first instinct was to laugh at this.  How many more really bad things did this kid have to list off for the mom to just take the game away and say no?  Then the more I thought about it, my emotion was more sadness than amusement.  I don't at all think I'm going to be a perfect parent, but I pray I'll know enough to know that a 10 year old shouldn't be playing a game that involves extreme violence, blood, nudity, etc. 

To end on a lighter note, the New Moon movie was released on Saturday, not Friday, and was at Sam's on sale for $20.88 at 7 AM that morning, not that we were interested.