It's a work in progress....

My parents came into town for Christmas and before I knew it we had painted the nursery and my dad had hung Allouette's wallpaper, he is a genius when it comes to hanging wallpaper. Yesterday Learon replaced the super ugly fan with a pretty little chandelier. 

It is a work in progress, but seems to be coming along in the right direction, a few preview shots for you:

I plan to paint a few walls pink this week and hang the curtains. After that we will just see what inspiration comes a'knockin'.

Week 32 & 33

Catching up from the holidays, here are the belly shots from week 32 & 33:



She is still going strong....7 more weeks and we have an arrangement that she will be right on time, if not a few days early. :-)

The Most Beautiful Crib...

We just found the most beautiful crib on Amazon for a smoking good deal, plus free shipping. Oh, how I love Amazon!

A big thank you to Learon's parents for helping us buy this little gem for Allouette.

Preview Extended

Maternity Shoot Preview!

Yup, that's my belly.

Week 31.....

We were so excited to do a mini maternity shoot today with our favorite photographer, Caitlin Domanico. Other than that, not a lot of new going on, just getting fat and happy. 

Week 30....WOW, 10 more weeks!

I had an appointment with my midwife today, everything is right on track, Allouette is heads down and on her left side, which I am told is the best position for a quick labor.....hopefully she will stay this way. It also looks like this little girl is going to be on the LONG side. On Thursday we completed our first series of birthing classes and have one more set left, Hypnobirthing, which begins in January.

Other than that, not a lot new going on, no cravings, no aversions.

Week 28 & 29 (and a few days from 30!)

Wow, time flies when you travel to Seattle for Thanksgiving, come home with the flu and then smack right into finals! Thankfully, I am now on the flip side of ALL of that and so I hope to get back on track with my weekly posting.

Here is a quick photo update of the last two weeks. Needless to say, this little girl, Allouette that is, has hit a major growth spurt!

Week 28

 Week 29

Week 29(ish)

Week 29(ish)*

*A note of clarity, as my sister questioned, nope, that is not a halo of hair around my belly button, that is simply what use to be the inside of my belly button now located on the outside. Creepy.

So there you have it! Looking large, I know, but supposedly I am measuring exactly where I should be. Thank goodness this baby is all in the front as it provides for a pretty cute bump, if I do say so. :-)

27 Weeks..

Wow, 27 weeks, how did that happen? One week away from my 3rd and final trimester!

No aversions or cravings, just hungry every 3 hours or so. My skin feels SO TIGHT, I have no idea how it is going to continue to stretch for 3 more months!

Week 26.....

Quick & Dirty - No cravings or aversions, the belly is really growing, nightly.

Week 25....

Sorry! I have been rather behind in blogging due to a way-to-chaotic school/project schedule. Here we are at week 25 (plus a few days), no regular photo this week, so you get two belly shots instead.

(Quick, catch the last views of my innie while it is still around)

Cravings

mmmm, Tomato Basil Soup from Cosi

Aversions

The Bobby, a Wilmington famous turkey sub-sandwich with stuffing & cranberry sauce

Week 24....Happy Halloween

(Milkman & 1950's Housewife)

(Sporting my new PJs)

Aversions

Nothing

Cravings

Nothing (so boring)

Cloth Diapers!

After discussing cloth diapers with many different friends and family members, researching for days online and attending a cloth diapering class at the Birth Center we finally decided our plan of attack.

We are going with pre-folds from Green Mountain Diapers, and a few different pocket diapers from Sunbabies and Fuzzibunz. We purchased our pre-folds and Sunbabies and registered for Fuzzibunz, so we should be all set to cloth diaper this kid. With the recommendation from the Birth Center, we kept our numbers lower so that we could really test out what works for this kiddo before we order all of one kind.

Last week the pre-folds from Green Mountain arrived and I was so excited to unpack these cute little diapers. Sure, diapers are diapers and once they are full I imagine the cute factor wears off, but for now, it is pretty dang exciting!

Week 23....

Yep, this belly is getting massive, I often wonder how in the world this could be my belly. I walk by the mirror and have to take a double-take as I am HUGE. Supposedly it is measuring right on target for how far along I am....it is hard to believe.



Aversions

Nothing

Cravings

Tomato Bisque Soup from Cosi

Hot Chocolate from Dunkin Donuts

Birth Center Baby

Now that Allouette has passed all prenatal testing with flying colors, I decided it was finally time to head over to the midwife owned and operated birthing center here in Wilmington. As most of you know, I am a huge believer in natural medicine and so I felt that it was my duty to at least check out the birthing center, even though I went into it with reservations.

Learon and I sat through the informational meeting and then took the facility tour. After reviewing the set-up, processes and services available, as well as having our many questions answered, we officially decided to have this baby at the birthing center. Which means..... as long as there are no complications and I go into labor somewhere between week 36-42, this baby will be born out of the hospital, epidural-free and in the water birthing suite. Yes, we are hoping and planning for a water birth.

I fully understand this sounds crazy to some, for those folks, I recommend the movie 'The Business of Being Born' which is available for streaming on Netflix.

So there you have it, Allouette is headed for one of those so-called 'natural' births. I remember back in the day I would often say that the only thing natural about my future labors would be the fact that I would not be wearing make-up.....oh, how time changes people and their points of view.

Check out the Wilmington, DE Birth Center.

Oh, What A Heart

Today was my fetal heart echo appointment and as expected, Allouette's heart is gorgeous, beautiful, and PERFECT! After an hour & a half of ultrasound and echo review there is absolutely no concern and she has been given an all-clear, which means that we are officially done with special ultrasound doctor appointments.

We also discovered that she is now 17 ounces, which is a little more than double what she was last month, no wonder my belly has been growing by leaps and bounds.

So there you have it, 22 weeks & 1 day, and Allouette is well on her way.

Nursery Bedding

After much searching I finally tracked down some crib bedding that will match with Allouette's nursery plans.

We are still planning on going with the raspberry & white wall paper on one wall, black chalkboard on one wall and the other two will have painted stripes. Before we were planning on doing pink, white and pinstripe red but after finding the below bedding I am thinking we will add a stripe of green as well. I know to some this might sound a little crazy, but trust me, it will look just perfect.

Week 22...

Getting bigger....shockingly so.

Multi-tasking with the best of them

Aversions

Nothing

Cravings

Nothing

Yeah, kind of a boring week this week as far as Allouette is concerned. The only main change is my hunger level which seems to be growing to match the belly or vice-a-versa.

The Nursery...Before

Although I swore up and down that I would not create a nursery prior to having this baby in my arms, I am quickly being drawn into the world of nursery design.

Here are a few 'before' shots to prepare you (and me) for what is to come.

 Currently this little room is painted yellow, but the yellow is a bit aged and looking worse-for-wear and so it's got to go.

 Learon put that gorgeous stroller together for me, here is the gift from my folks in all of its glory.

 The inspiration for the room, hard to tell in the photo, but the red is a kind of rasberry red, not a true primary, but leaning slightly into the purple world. This wallpaper will go on one wall, most likely the wall with the window which you see first when you walk into the room.

I found this dresser at our local Salvation Army last year and it will be perfect for Allouette, thinking I will be sanding it down and painting it white.

So the next steps are as follows:

1) Pick paint colors to accompany the wall paper

2) Find a sweet little chandiler to replace that awful fan

3) Talk Learon into letting me pull up the carpet to reveal the gorgeous hardwood floors underneath

Keep you posted as I go.



Week 21....

A little over half-way done, feeling pretty good but still finding the need to puke on a semi-regular basis....which hasn't stopped my belly from expanding!

 (Disclaimer, no those aren't stretch marks, not yet, just sleep marks, but I am sure the stretch marks are just around the corner)

Looking pretty sly at 21 weeks

Aversions

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tomatoes

Cravings

Cheetos (oh the good life)