Random Updates from the Baugher Household (20-22.5 weeks)

Fall is in the air...which in Houston means that the temperature has dropped below 95 degrees and people start cautiously venturing out of their air-conditioned homes and offices (after 5 months of hibernation) to enjoy the great outdoors again.  It's a really exciting time here, with folks buzzing about the outdoor eateries and exercising in Memorial Park instead of at the gym.  It seems that our little bun-in-the-oven is also rejuvenated by the cooler temperatures and has been doing some in-utero exercising of his own.  I can't quite establish a pattern to his movements yet, but I am really enjoying the frequent reminders that our little guy is growing bigger and stronger in there!  My favorite time of the day is first thing in the morning when I wake up...I lay still and try to feel if Brady is awake yet.  When I do feel a little flutter, I think it's him saying "Good morning, Mom", and there could not be a better way to start my day!  I can't wait for the time when I can open his bedroom door in the morning and see that smiling face!

Even more exciting than my own early morning "chats" with Brady is that he's starting to communicate with others as well :0)  On October 13th, we had spicy jambalaya for dinner and then settled down on the couch to watch some TV.  Apparently, that spicy food lit Brady up, because it felt like he was doing kick-boxing in my belly!  At 21 weeks and 1 day, I didn't think it was really possible for Chris to feel movement from the outside, but I put his hand on my tummy to see if he could feel it just in case.  Much to my amazement, Chris picked up on every little punch/kick for a good 5 minute period of time!  It was such an awesome moment and I was so thrilled that Daddy and Boogie got to spend some time together.  I also suspect that Camden and Brady are already bonding.  Cam's favorite place to snuggle up nowadays is right on Mommy's hip with his head resting on my lower tummy.  I'm sure those two will be best buddies, and Cammie is already showing that he enjoys "talking" with his little brother too!

In other news, we spent most of last weekend registering for our soon-to-be new arrival.  I'll admit that after our first attempt at Babies R Us, I was in a bit of a panic.  If you have ever been to the back of a Babies R Us store, then you know that section is filled with dozens of choices for car seats, strollers, high chairs, pack n plays, swings...the list goes on and on.  To say that the task of choosing the "right" baby gear is daunting is a huge understatement.  Over and over again, I would stand in front of all these options with no idea what I was doing.  Chris was there, registry scanner gun in hand (cocked and loaded), but each time I would shake my head and walk to the next aisle I could hear a little whimper of defeat escape his lips.  I know he was frustrated with my indecision, but like a very smart husband of a pregnant woman, he did not make any rude comments.  When we left there on Saturday night, I think we had registered for a total of 15 items.  The lady at the registry counter actually laughed at us.  Chris assured me on the way home that a good night's sleep would bring clarity for the morning and we'd go back.  Well, after that good night's sleep, a TON of online research, and a phone call to my super knowledgeable sister, we did have a much more successful Sunday.  Here are some of the exciting items we decided on:

Chicco Key Fit car seat/stroller combo...I'm totally loving the yellow and gray circle motif!

Awesome Jungle ExerSaucer...seriously, how happy is that baby in the picture?!?!

Ergo Baby Carrier - Chris is so excited for all the journeys he and Brady will take together with this!

Portable Duck Swing...seriously, could this be any cuter???

All in all, I would say that we got our act together pretty well and are feeling better about all the picks we made for our little boogie bear.

Our 2-year wedding anniversary is tomorrow, and we're hoping to get away for a night next weekend at the Hyatt Regency at Lost Pines.  One of my girlfriends described the resort as a modern-day "Kellerman's" (the club where the Dirty Dancing movie takes place) so what could be better than that?  I think we're both looking forward to a little romantic getaway.  We really don't take many vacations together, and since this will be our last anniversary without little one(s), we feel like we'd better take advantage.  Although we don't take fancy trips, my hubby does know how to remind me how much he loves me.  Just last week I received these at the office:

Not only is the blue hydrangea our wedding flower, it also symbolized our baby boy on the way!  I am so lucky to have such a thoughtful man to share my life with and Brady is so lucky to have such an awesome Dad!!

Until next time, hope everyone is having a fabulous start to the fall!

20 Weeks...We're Halfway Done, Little One!

What is the value of 20 weeks?  Approximately five months?  Six weeks shy of half a year?  Slightly longer than a college semester?  Well, if you're a first-time expectant parent, 20 weeks is a huge milestone!  It means your baby-to-be is "half-baked".  It means you've made it through the scary first trimester and halfway through the second.  It means in about another 20 weeks, you will finally get to meet the little angel you've been dreaming of everyday.  All in all, it's a pretty exciting time! 

It also means that at your doctor's appointment this week, you will have the opportunity to learn whether you're carrying a little angel boy or a little angel girl.  This decision was much debated in our household, and we sought advice from both our friends and family.  After some hesitation, we finally decided that we would find out.  So, we headed to the doctor's office on the morning of October 4th, anxiously awaiting the moment when the ultrasound technician would let us in on Boogie's biggest secret.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, if you're reading this blog, chances are you already know.  But for effect, drum roll please.....................







IT'S A BOY!!!!!!

The debate is officially over.  Baby Boogie is a Baby Boy...and so begins the quest for the perfect baby gear.  I have been obsessing over nursery patterns for more than a week.  It's tough to find the perfect balance of color with a theme that you like.  It's even tougher when a husband and wife have to agree on this perfect balance of color and theme.  I'm lucky in that Chris is the opposite of argumentative, and I think we may have found a pattern that we both really like:  Eli's Elephants from PB Kids.  What do you think?

I really love the combination of the green and pale blue.  It's masculine enough to be "boy", but not in a tough guy kind of way.  I already imagine my baby boy to be sweet and kind like his Daddy, and this adorable pattern just seems to fit.  Plus, when I was a little girl, I couldn't pronounce the word elephants properly and instead said "evidence", so it makes me smile to think of Boogie and how he might describe the animals on his blankie one day. 

OK, that's enough excitement for now.  More news coming soon...so check back in the next couple days and I promise to have a new update!  Here's a few 20 weeks pregnant pics and statistics:

It's definitely a boy...the arrow points to the evidence!!

Proud of my boyish bump!

How Far Along:  20 weeks
Size of Baby:  7 inches & 13 ounces (about the size of a cantaloupe)  Gotta love all the references to fruit!
Gender:  Boogie = Boy!  Can't wait to meet my handsome little guy!
Maternity Clothes:  I am wearing a lot of maternity clothes now, though I can still wear my old jeans unbuttoned with the Belly Band over top.  My sister brought me a ton of hand-me-down maternity clothes when they came to visit a couple weeks ago, so I'm pretty well stocked now!

Movement:  Boogie has been making his presence known to Mommy quite a bit lately.  His movement became pretty noticeable at around 18-19 weeks, and now his kicks and punches are a regular part of my day.  I love that little reminder that I am carrying around precious cargo.
Sleep:  I am waking up usually between 3-5 times per night to pee, and with my growing belly, it's hard to keep myself in a comfortable position for very long.  I guess this is the body's way of getting me used to a lot of interrupted sleep.  I haven't felt well rested in about 2 weeks now with all the waking up and tossing and turning.
Symptoms:  Lots of quickening, frequent urination, pain in my hips and occasionally the lower back
What I Miss:  Sleeping through the night
Cravings:  I'm still craving cheese, but this month I've also added milk (or any dairy for that matter) and eggs.  For about a week, I was also craving raw veggies like carrots, cucumbers, and celery.
Best Moment This Week:  Seeing the look on Chris' face when the technician told us it's a boy.  Shock, pride, and excitement all in an instant, and then he just looked at me with a huge amount of love.  It doesn't get any better than that!

Rewind to 16 Weeks

So a lot happened between 13 and 16 weeks.  I think I was most shocked by the growth of my bump.  All of a sudden my regular work pants were no longer an option and only a few of my tops could conceal my belly.  This is kind of an "in-between" phase where my belly is growing and noticeable, but people probably don't realize that I'm pregnant.  I went through a rough time dealing with the fact that people might look at me and just think I was a girl with a big gut.  After a while though, it hit me that it doesn't really matter what anyone thinks.  My growing belly is a great reminder that our little Boogie B is growing stronger and healthier everyday and that I'm doing a good job making him/her happy in there! 

Boogie and I also traveled by airplane a few times this month!  We trekked to Canada for work (Baby's first time out of the country) and then to Virginia/Maryland two weeks later for a little work and fun combo.  While I was home in MD, I got to spend some much needed quality time with my parents and my brother.  We also arranged to meet up with my in-laws for breakfast and it was so great to see them!  We chatted for about an hour after breakfast and took lots of pictures in the Denny's parking lot, so I'm sure the other patrons thought we were crazy people.

With both Sets of Proud Grandparents

With Uncle Brian, Aunt Leslie, Nana, & Pappy :0)

Long Lost Brothers (according to our waiter) Brian and Bobby

In more exciting news, Chris and I were honored to become Averie Elizabeth's godparents on August 28th.  We are so blessed to have Brittany, Austin and Averie in our lives!

Us at Averie's Baptism

A better pic of Avie...seriously, how do you not love that face??

OK, I guess that's enough for now.  Later this week I'll update with a 20 week post, so we're just about all caught up!  Here's a pic from 16 weeks and the stats to go along with it:

Bump-a-licious at 16 weeks ;0)

How Far Along:  16 weeks
Size of Baby:  4-5 inches & 3 ounces (about the size of a navel orange)
Gender:  Still no news...we find out on October 4th!!
Maternity Clothes:  I definitely needed some dress pants and had a little shopping spree with Mom while in MD.  I don't want to spend a lot of money on maternity clothes, but they are much more comfortable!
Movement:  Thought I felt a little flutter this week, but it was just once and then nothing, so I'm not too sure
Sleep:  Still sleeping pretty well, but I'm beginning to stay up a little later at night with renewed energy
Symptoms:  Mostly just the baby bump and a little more frequent urination
What I Miss:  Fitting into my "little" clothes
Cravings:  CHEESE!!!  Anything stuffed with, sprinkled, or made of cheese is on my cravings list.  I cannot get enough! 
Best Moment This Week:  At my 16 week doctor's appointment, I got to hear the baby's heartbeat on the Doppler for the first time.  Since we didn't have an ultrasound that time, it was definitely the highlight!

1st Trimester Recap (May 25th - August 24th 2011)

Since I've let myself fall behind on blogging, I'll have to back up a little and update everyone on the first 13 weeks.  My first trimester, relative to those of some of my friends, was a breeze.  I had no real morning sickness to speak of, and I'm sure everyone reading this blog knows me well enough to know that's a very, very good thing!  I act like a huge baby when I'm sick to my stomach, and I think Chris was actually more relieved than I was when that dreaded 8-10 week time frame came and went without me running to the toilet. 

I did have a few of the tell-tale symptoms of pregnancy in the first three months, though.  First was the heightened sense of smell.  I actually noticed it about a week and a half before I took a pregnancy test, which was really only about two weeks into the pregnancy.  I'm sure some people think that's impossible, but I swear my sniffer was stronger than Camden's, our Beagle/Lab mix!  I initially noticed a change in the way our detergent smelled while doing the laundry one day...even though I hadn't switched types or even opened a new bottle.  The liquid soap at the office smelled totally different to me as well, but when I asked around, no one else seemed to notice.  Other than the Super Sniffer, I also had some serious irregularity (sorry if that's too much information), but my doctor said that it was totally normal for early pregnancy.  Apparently Mommy's digestive tract slows waaaaay down to allow Baby to absorb as many nutrients as possible, which resulted in a bit of a "back-up" for me.  And finally, probably the most noticeable symptom was fatigue.  By the 5th week, I was passing out at 8:00 and sleeping for 10 hours with no problem.  Chris would laugh at me when I got home from work and immediately headed upstairs to change into PJs and slippers.  It got worse until about Week 12, when I slowly started feeling more alert in the evenings.

But, the first trimester wasn't only about symptoms and annoyances either.  We had three very exciting doctor's appointments at Weeks 7, 9 and 13.  At 7 weeks we could just see a little "caterpillar" in there with a flickering heartbeat, but that was the first time we ever laid eyes (albeit with the help of ultrasound equipment) on our sweet Baby Boogie.  At 9 weeks we had a second ultrasound and were shocked at how different Boog looked!  The head, torso, and legs were all distinguishable, and we watched in awe as Baby's little legs kicked back and forth non-stop.  And last but not least, our 13 week appointment was all about the 1st Trimester Health Screening, where we had the Nuchal Translucency Test and got to see our little one for a full 20 minutes on the screen. By the way, all tests came back great with low risk of disease!

Finally, after that appointment, we were able to share our news with family and friends.  The supportive response was tremendous, and it was an amazing feeling to tell other people that we are about to be parents!  I also started documenting the Baby Bump with photos at 13 weeks, so here it is in its early days of glory :0)

From now on, I will try to post every couple of weeks and include the following things along with tummy pics:

How Far Along:  13 weeks
Size of Baby:  About 3 inches & 1 ounce (Roughly the size of a peach)
Gender:  Unknown for now ;0)
Maternity Clothes:  None yet; I lived in comfy dresses for all of the first trimester
Movement:  Nothing yet; A little too soon
Sleep:  Tons of sleep!  I couldn't get enough of my bed during the first three months
Symptoms:  Exhaustion, strong sense of smell, irregularity
What I Miss:  Sushi (sigh), staying up past 9 pm
Cravings:  Rather than cravings at this stage, I was just a really picky eater.  I would only "feel like" eating a few things and Chris would have to live with those choices (which he did without complaint and was such an awesome husband!)
Best Moment This Week:  Since we actually have 13 weeks to choose from, I'll go with our first doctor's appointment when the doctor said "We've got a little critter with a heartbeat in there!"  Even though the tests said yes and I was excited before, that was the moment that I knew it was real...the moment that I relished in the fact that I was going to be a Mommy!!!