Nick and I are having a wonderful time going to garage sales. We seem to live for "Garage Sale Saturdays". We haven't spent that much but have bought a lot. In the beginning we bought clothes, and now it has progressed to a baby bjorn and a side table for our couch. What great deals one can get at garage sales! I'm already planning this Saturday's garage sale adventures.
I am suddenly having a difficult time sleeping at night again, and it's mostly because I can't stay comfortable in bed when I have to wake up to use the bathroom. Therefore, I decided to use my time awake wisely and create a more permanant blog. I have had a blog on another website, however, I hate all the advertisements on that website and would like to create a new website. My old blogs from the other website (http://www.babycrowd.com/) are below:
2010-04-22 (32 weeks)
Gettin' there!
We are finally getting there! Just around 8 weeks to go (unless I'm early or late).
I have been experiencing nesting BIG TIME. Every place in my apartment that can be organized, is organized. I'm getting more anxious to get our apartment set up for when our son comes home. In fact, tonight we will set up the playard already. We will move a chair out and put it in our bedroom. This is where the baby will sleep until we move. That will mean we are almost ready! Before time comes, I'm hoping to buy a swing, and a mattress protector. Other than that, I'll feel ready. I'm really anxious to get the breast pump too, but that can wait.
I had the most beautiful weekend last weekend. Friday night we had a girls night and Megan, Sarah, and Jenni and I stayed up and chatted. Saturday afternoon I had pregnancy pictures taken of me by my sister (they turned out beautiful). Then on Saturday evening the family got together to celebrate the baby. Everyone gave me really neat things. Sunday was a relaxing day with family. This trip was in Iowa, and it was the last time that I plan on traveling during the pregnancy. Time to stay close to the hospital!
A couple of weeks ago Nick and I toured a town house that we decided to rent. It is beautiful. We are signing papers on Tuesday! We chose renting over buying because we'd rather not pay the mortgage insurance.
This little boy is over 4 pounds now! In the last 6 weeks he has doubled his weight. That's amazing! He kicks all the time, and his movements are intense. You can see almost all of them when looking at my belly.
At work I've been getting ready for the end of the year. There are only 5 weeks of work left, and I'm done with tasks I would normally do the last week. I'd rather not wait on tasks that I can get done!
This weekend we are planning on going to garage sales. We have so much fun doing that and find such neat things!
Time is closer, and I can feel it! He puts a lot of pressure on my lower abdomen, my pelvis hurts from his weight, I'm more tired, short of breath, etc. It's all worth it though, and I'm elated. Honestly, it was hard for this all to feel real a matter of weeks ago. It is feeling more and more real every day! I am so happy!
2010-02-11 (21 weeks)
Life is good!
I'm finally in a part of the pregnancy that I can enjoy. I don't have morning sickness. I am feeling baby kick often, and even seeing it sometimes. I know whether I'm having a boy or a girl, and am starting to buy things for the baby. Our dreams are coming alive.
When I was 15 1/2 weeks, I felt my baby kick me for the first time. This was December 27. It felt like thick butterfly wings. Then on January 25, I could feel the baby kick for the first time. Nick felt it kick a week later. When I was 19 1/2 weeks, I was waiting for my ultrasound and saw the baby kick (saw movement on the outside of my belly) for the first time. Just a week-and-a-half-ago Nick saw it on the outside for the first time. Last weekend my mom and Casey felt it on the outside for the first time. It's all so special!!!
At the ultrasound, we were excited to see our baby, as well as find out if it was a boy or a girl. Everyone in my family and Nick's family, except for one sister of mine, thought it was a boy. Nick and I both thought it was a boy as well. So we were delighted but not super surprised when the ultrasound tech said "It's a boy". We are thrilled! After the ultrasound, Nick and I continuously made phone calls to family members and friends, telling them about our son! He is so beautiful. I can't wait to actually see him in person.
Nick and I spent some time looking for houses a week ago. We went with a realtor to see some houses. Even though looking at houses was exciting, we didn't want to pay for private mortgage insurance. It felt like a waste of money, when we could be saving more for our house first by renting a cheap apartment. Therefore, we will move in June to a big two bedroom near Nick's work that has 13 X 15 foot bedrooms. That will be very nice. It will be difficult to move the same month we plan on having a baby, but we know we can do it.
The most difficult part of pregnancy now is sometimes having trouble breathing deep, having some heartburn, having to wake up and blow my nose for hours, and the lack of sleep. I know it's all worth it in the end. I jokingly tell people that this part of the pregnancy is so hard, that the baby will be easy: it will never have stinky diapers, it will never throw temper tantrums, and it will be the most obedient and perfect teenager ever. : )
I've been shopping with friends and family for the baby. In January, Nick's parents bought us the travel stroller and car seat. We are thrilled. It's exactly what we wanted. Two weeks ago, my friend bought a baby book and creative memories. We met in Omaha to go shopping and I bought baby booties, a knit hat, a few outfits, and the baby bouncer. This past weekend, my mom and Casey came down to Kansas City, and mom purchased his first Halloween outfit (a puppy!), and the crib bedding (brown with white giraffes---so cute). Casey got our son his first Build-a-bear. It was funny when we were creating the bear, I had to make a birth certificate. My mom and Casey were looking on anxiously to see if I would write our son's name on the certificate, since we are not telling the name. Instead, in the "to" section, I wrote "To: Baby Zevenbergen". Ha!
All experiences celebrating this future child have been magical. I can't wait for many more of those moments to come.
2009-12-07 (13 weeks)
Long time, no write...but a lot happened!
People have told me several times how difficult pregnancy symptoms are, however, I never realized the extent of how difficult these symptoms were until I was pregnant myself. At 6 weeks, three days, I started morning sickness. It's an awful feeling when you realize you are starting it. It's like "Here I start this long ride". It was really bad for me. In fact, I was writhing on the floor for three hours in the mornings before work. The thing that scared me the most, is that I didn't want to throw up. When I had the flu in January, whenever I threw up, I would pass out. I didn't want this for the baby, because I didn't want all my blood to go to my heart, lungs, and brain and not to baby when I passed out. When I gagged when I was morning sick, I saw stars, just like in January. I talked to my doctor and got on Phenergan, an anti-nausea medication, right away. This made my morning sickness weaken a little bit, but it was still strong. Now that I am thirteen weeks, my morning sickness is much more manageable!!! I don't have it every morning and evening anymore, and it's not as severe.
When I went to the doctor at the end of October, they gave me an ultrasound as a result of my cramping, and we found out that I have cysts on my ovaries. This isn't a severe problem right now, just something we need to watch. The good thing that came out of all this, is that we saw the baby in the ultrasound! We could see the perfect outline of the baby's arms, legs, and head. We saw the heart beat! This was so special!!!
I have my next doctor's appointment on December 10. I'm am so excited. We will hear baby's heartbeat for the first time!
Our biggest issue right now is our apartment. We have decided it'd be best to move into a bigger apartment in June, when our lease ends. I realize this is the same time the baby will be born, however, with help from many friends, we hope we can do it. Of course, I won't be much of a help, but the alternative is moving sooner, and spending $1370 to get out of our lease early, which is money we could otherwise spend on baby.
The most exciting thing is that I have been showing since I was 9 1/2 weeks! It's really exciting. This was difficult to hide, but I managed the best I could. I bought maternity clothes the day before thanksgiving, and am enjoying all these new things (semi-new, since I bought them at a consignment shop for $10 a peice---very nice items!).
It is very neat going into the "baby Jesus" season with a baby on the way. It definitely brings new meaning to Christmas. How special this is!!!
2009-10-26 (6 weeks)
There's not enough room for the three of us...
It's exciting to look at stuff for babies online: cribs, bottles, bibs, pacifiers, clothes, blankets, diapers, wipes, toys, play pens, etc. I even registered at amazon.com!
However, when looking at all this stuff, I start to realize that our one-bedroom, 598 square foot apartment just won't fit three people and baby stuff. Therefore, Nick and I started looking for different apartments and houses. We found a really neat two bedroom apartment that has bedrooms that are 13X15 square feet really close to Nick's work for $560, but has no washer/dryer. We found an older apartment for $680 that has two bedrooms, and older appliances (including a washer and dryer), that is further from our work places. We also found some really neat houses for sale, but we would need to have 10% down.
Nick and I decided we will have to wait until April, and if we found money for 10% down, we would buy a house. If we can't find money for 10% down, we will rent the apartment near Nick's work. No matter what, we will have to move again, even though we just moved this past summer! However, the baby is SO worth it. : )
Nick and I are getting more and more excited about baby as time gets closer. We are excited to begin telling our families. We decided that when we tell my parents, we'll give them a Harley Davidson onsie that says something about grandma or grandpa riding harleys on it. I'm excited to tell Nick's parents too. We are going to start telling people on Thanksgiving. We can't wait!
My first OB-GYN appointment is on Thursday, October 29, at 2:00! We are looking forward to it! Maybe they'll let us do an ultrasound...
2009-10-16 (5 weeks)
I'm Pregnant!!!
I found out I was pregnant on Sunday, October 11! This is WONDERFUL news. We've been married 8 1/2 years and have been trying since December.
When we found out we are pregnant it was a very special time. I knew I was late, so I decided to take a test. We went to the store to purchase one. It was the simple plus/minus test. Well, the plus sign was so light in color that I decided it couldn't be true. Therefore, I made Nick go to the store with me again to get another test. This time we decided to get the "Pregnant/Not Pregnant" digital test so we knew "for sure" whether I was pregnant. (I must mention here Nick was sure the whole time, I didn't want to get my hopes up, so I wasn't convinced). I came home, took the test, and about 2 minutes later it said "Pregnant"!!! I couldn't believe my eyes! We are finally having a BABY!!!! I was thrilled! After we found out, Nick and I took Lexi for a walk and talked about this amazing future!
On Tuesday, October 13, it was my birthday. On this day I noticed I wasn't interested in the birthday cake that was given to me. The only things I'm interested in are meats and cheeses, not sweets. If anyone knows me well, they know this is VERY unusual. Also on Tuesday, Nick sent me a text, saying "How is your day, birthday mommy?" That made me smile.
I went to the doctor yesterday, which was October 15. The nurse came in and said "Positive!!!" We were elated. After asking the doctor questions and joking around for the doctor for awhile, we found out how he feels about nurse midwives. Due to spending time working in Labor and Delivery, I realized how much I liked nurse midwives and how much 1:1 attention they give their clients. They even allow the father to help catch the baby. However, the doctor felt that going with an Ob-Gyn and a Doula is the way to go. Doulas range from $150-600, and they seem like they are amazing. However, it's important to me that Nick is very involved. Therefore I am thinking of only having an Ob-Gyn and no Doula when I go to Liberty Hospital (35 weeks or so from now...).
We went home from the doctor and reality set in even more: we are having a baby!
Nick called me today and talked for awhile about how exciting this is. He sounded elated. He mentioned that there will be so many things we can do with the baby someday. He's going to be such an amazing father. It was so neat to hear all the excitement in his voice. I feel the same way. This is so special: this child is a mix of Nick and I! (I wonder what that will be like...)
There is so much to look forward to. It's fun to dream! And I have many more dreams ahead.
