Farewell Until We Meet Again

Today I said a sad farewell to my wedding rings. This is no surprise really, it happened with my last pregnancy as well. Although, I did make it a little further along last go around. This morning I had a few moments where I thought I may have to get it cut off as it didn't budge. But, thanks to much advice on twitter and facebook, some ice cubes followed by olive oil did the trick.

Right now I'm giving my poor finger a bit of a rest and letting the circulation return to my fingernail. But tomorrow I will put on what I lovingly call my "fat band", until I can squeeze the real things back on.

Goodbye rings. I will miss you and see you sometime in the late summer or early fall.

Pregnancy Must Have #3

Now, this next must have is for a little later in pregnancy. For when the belly bulge is really out there and in the way. When, let's be honest, it's harder to keep up with some of our female grooming. We're tired, we're huge. We can't see our legs, let alone figure out the delicate balance necessary to lather up with shaving gel, shave and not fall flat on our face.

Let me introduce my pregnancy must have # 3: The Schick Intuition Razor.

This lovely little wonder tool....

"lathers, shaves and moisturizes in one easy step so there is no need for shave gel, soap or body wash. Now with 4 blades, it will leave your skin noticeably softer! It is simple to use so Trust Your Intuition® and try it!"

This little gadget can be purchased at any drugstore, grocery store and even on amazon.com. It is more expensive than your run of the mill Bic, but is a worthy investment that your significant other, and your OB, will thank you for.

First Personalized Purchase

I am OBSESSED with getting things personalized and monogrammed. Grayson has his name and/or initials on so much of his stuff. I'm trying to scale back a bit for the next little guy, so that some more items have some resale value. But, I couldn't resist on the day I found out he is indeed a boy, to make just one personalized purchase.

I ordered these personalized pacifier and bottle/cup labels for the little guy. I have them for Grayson and they are great! They are easy to get off if necessary, but stay where they are put, even in the dishwasher. This is a definite must have item in my opinion for the little one, especially if they will be in day care, a mommy and me group, the church nursery, or anywhere else where their stuff could be mistaken for someone else's. And they are cheap!

What name will these labels have on them you ask? This little guy's name will be "Sawyer".

Mommy can't wait to meet you Sawyer and she is going to buy you so much crapola that everyone will know is yours!

It's a...

Boy!

No surprise there! We pretty much suspected so and are thrilled about it!

Grayson will have a brother to play with! This is going to be fun.

Ultrasound pics to come later, but just wanted to get the news out!

Pink or Blue?

In about 24 hours I will know if this little person growing inside is a boy or a girl! Too say I'm excited is an understatement. I am a HUGE planner, and can't wait to start making purchases that are gender specific. I have certain items I bought for Grayson that are mongrammed, and I want to get those same items for this next little one. Things like this, this and this. And, most likely in room decorating, we will do these again, like we did for G. It has been killing me to not be able to pull the trigger and start decorating.

We also have picked out a new furniture set for the little one, but if it's a girl we are thinking white finish, and if it's a boy we're thinking espresso finish.

So many decisions out there to be completed, but alas, I've been in the waiting game. I'm so, so, SO excited about tomorrow. I imagine I won't sleep tonight.

A lot of people have asked me what I'd like to have. The answer is an 100% truthful "I really don't care". There are definite pros and cons to both.

If it's a boy:

• Simpler - I already have most the stuff
• Names - I'm more sold on our boy name than girl (I like the girl name, just not the possible nickname)
• I know how much I love my little boy and love the idea of saying "my boys"

If it's a girl:

• Yea! pink things!
• Our families would be pretty pumped - right now there is only 1 girl on each side in the grandkid department (1 out of 3 so far on David's side; 1 out of 6 so far on my side).
• A girl could be nice cause we all know girls are the ones who really take care of the parents when we are old. :-)
• And lastly, if it's a girl, there is a good chance we will hang up our having kids hat if we want to. (although it's possible we could still go for a 3rd - with another boy it's more likely we will go for number 3)

I have to admit. When they said it was a boy at my last ultrasound, I cried. And no, it wasn't tears of joy (which is what I lied and told my husband), but tears of disappointment. I really wanted not just A girl but ALL girls, like the way I grew up. I thought I wouldn't know what to do with a boy. Now on the other hand, I totally LOVE the idea of all boys.

I can't stand the waiting, but it will soon all be over. I will be sure to blog tomorrow early in the day with an update! (Our appt is at 8 a.m. EST - if I recall from last time it was about a 45 minute appt.)

Who Wears....I Mean BUYS....the (Under)Pants in Your Family?

Yesterday as we shopped around prior to our Valentine's Day date, I bought some underwear for my husband as his current pairs are in rough shape. As I paid for the purchase (since he refused), I began thinking back and recalling, that to my best recollection, I've always bought his underpants when necessary since the day we were married. And, before me, I'm pretty sure his mom bought them for him. So I asked him if he had ever once in his life, bought his own underwear.

The answer was "no".

I tend to think my man isn't the only one who's gone straight from mama to wife in the "embarassing" department of buying skivvies.

So ladies, what about your man? Does he buy his own? Do you buy them for him? Did his mom used to do this duty for him as well? Has he ever made this type of purchase on his own? And why o why is this something a capable, independent man, will not do on his own? Do tell.....

Let Me Count the Ways

Happy Valentine's Day to my love of over 10 years. In June we will celebrate 11 years together; in September 8 years of marriage.

Here are just a few reasons why I love you:

• You are HOT and just keep getting better
• You are my best friend
• No one makes me laugh harder than you can
• You are an amaaaaazing daddy to Grayson and I know you will be to this next little one too
• You still make dating me a priority
• You love going to the movies as much as I do
• You tell me that I'm beautiful when I'm 50 lbs plus and pregnant, knowing when it's the right time to lie
• You know that the best present you can ever get me is a small coffee from dunkin donuts
• You have given me a little blue box in the bottom of my stocking every Christmas. You have good taste man.
• You let me cook for you 'cause you know I love it; even though you would rather be eating PB & J

There are so many more reasons, but I won't list them all. And, I know you don't read my blog and probably won't even see this. But, I wanted to share with everyone out there that I am one lucky woman.

Love you!

To Bare the Belly, Or Not To...that is the question

When I was first pregnant, I really thought I was going to do the whole belly pic every few weeks and journal the journey through photos of my growing gut. Three miscarriages later, I just never started. I think it was a combination of not wanting to jinx things when I was pregnant with Grayson, and in all honesty, being kinda grossed out at times by my own belly and not wanting to subject others to it. :-)

So this time around, I thought about starting it early. I really did. I even have a great What to Expect app on my iphone that lets you take the pics and store them in there. But I just never started. Again, I think I was afraid things wouldn't last at first. Plus, I didn't do it for Grayson, and I wanted to be fair for my kids and all.

Then, Katie asked if I had any belly pics to share, and I decided that although I didn't yet, I'd at least do one. Now I kinda wish I'd done it with Grayson to compare. I sure feel a whole lot bigger this go around than last.

So, here I be. 17 weeks, 3 days. It's okay if you are grossed out. I am a little bit too.

Pregnancy Must Have #2

Ok, now this one may seem simple and unimportant, but it helped me get some much needed rest as my bump began to grow last time around.

Pregnancy Must Have #2 - Invest in a pair of slinky, satiny PJ's. No, no, not like a sexy nighty or anything, but a pair of large men's style pj's. Like these ones pictured to the right:



Why do you need these you ask? Well, I don't know about you, but as my bump started to grow, I found myself waking up in the middle of the night as I was turning over because I would get "caught" on my belly. It would get in the way, making it impossible to make a smooth flip in my sleep. These satin pj's glide along the sheets and helped me make some flips in the night without waking up from getting caught on my big ole' belly.

Now, it's not a permanent fix. As the stomach grows there is absolutely nothing that can fix the problem and bring good sleep. But this little tip can bring you weeks, if not a couple months of extra zzzz's.

Don't spend alot of money on them - I got mine at Target for about $19.99 from the Gilligan & O'Malley brand. Also, don't forget to go up a size or two to allow room for growth. And, as an added bonus, these type of pj's work great for nursing once the baby comes as they allow easy access to the feeders. :-)

Happy shopping!

Pregnancy Must Have #1

Thought I'd share with you guys some of pregnancy must haves. My first recommendation is:

Biggs & Featherbelle Belly Balm

To me, this product is a miracle cream. You see, I got big when pregnant with Grayson. No really, seriously BIG. Like HUGE big. I gained 50 pounds. It was gross. But the amazing thing is, I didn't get a single stretch mark.

I was ready for them. Both my sisters and my mom all have them. I've heard they are hereditary so I just assumed I would get them too. My little sister heard about this belly balm that Heidi Klum swears by, and figured she'd gift it to me to give a shot. I generously slathered it on my growing belly every night before bed. And towards the end of the pregnancy I added an extra application in the morning after my shower as well.

Now, I guess it's always possible the cream has nothing to do with the fact that I didn't get stretch marks. But, I'm not taking any chances this time. I've been liberally applying the stuff to my rapidly growing belly every evening and praying, wishing, hoping it does it's magic again.

Here I am....exactly 1 week out from having my little Gman (pictured with my dad). I'm sure I'll get every bit as big this time too. My weight so far is tracking the same as last time.

If you are pregnant and trying to avoid stretch marks, this is my #1 "Must-Have" for pregnancy.

You can buy it online here. Or, I found mine at my Whole Foods store.

Happy slathering everyone!

The Quest

It's always fun to have a quest. Something to search for. It can be a fun hobby. But when the quest is unattainable it sure is frustrating.

My current quest is to obtain the double stroller I want. Bad news is, it's been discontinued by Graco. When I was registering for Grayson, I went with the g galore pattern and loved it. I have the infant seat, single stroller, toddler car seat, as well as the step 3 car seat that will take him all the way up to the booster car seat stage. I often pondered just biting the bullet and purchasing the double stroller - Graco Quattro Tour Duo Stroller in G Galore - but never pulled the trigger. I just had too much fear that I was going to have a double stroller, and no second child to put in it. Plus at about $250, it was a big investment. Now that I'm pregnant and need it, it is of course nowhere to be found.

I had a small glimmer of hope last week as I found one on wash dc craigslist used, but alas, it had already been sold by the time I contacted. I've even contacted some sellers on craigslist as far away as seattle and dallas about the stroller they have for sale, but can't seem to get any responses. Sigh.

I'm anal. I have to have everything match. If I can't find this stroller, it means I'll have to start all over again with a new pattern and get all the pieces. I really don't want to do this! Any suggestions for a girl looking for a discontinued stroller? I'm totally fine with used...I just want to match!

Not My Normal Luck

Last Thursday, our local pea in the pod store had the grand opening of it's expanded destination maternity store. If you've never been to a destination maternity, they are glorious. They have motherhood maternity, mimi maternity, pea in the pod AND cute baby and mommy stuff all in one place. Definitely a great 1 stop shopping kind of place for us preggos.

I received a postcard in the mail saying that the first 25 people to come in on opening day would receive a 10, 25, 50, 100 or 500 gift card. I kinda liked those odds - 1 in 25 chance of $500, so I decided to go. And I recruited my sister, who loves doing things like this, to come with me. She owed me anyway - I've gone to American Idol auditions with her and lined up for Twilight crazed stuff among other things.

We arrived at about 7:40 - the store opened at 10 and we were the first ones there. It was cold out, so we waited in our car for a bit since no one else was really there. And really no one else really started to show up until a few minutes after 9. At that point we lined up outside, and I secured my #1 spot in line. My mom ended up coming and standing in line today behind us - so my odds just went up to a 3 in 25 chance of the $500 gift card (since sis and mom aren't preggo, they were gonna give to me).

When they opened the doors and let us in, I turned over my card and lo and behold, I GOT THE $500 GIFT CARD!!! AHHHHH! I was SO excited as you can imagine. And it gets better...my mom got another $50 card. So I have $550 glorious dollars to spend there.

I haven't spent it yet, cause I'm planning what I want to get, but I will soon. (Oh and btw the sis got a $10 card - but she kept it to use on nursing pads since she's still breastfeeding. I so graciously let her since I didn't need it. Ha!)

This is so NOT my normal luck. I never win anything. So this was definitely a nice change!