29 Weeks!

(Taken on Monday, at 29 Weeks exactly)

Wow!  Apparently my lack of sleep on Sunday night showed a lot more then I thought!  

What is going on with this weather?!?  I have never been scared to drive in the snow, but lately I have been MUCH more protective of the baby, which means being very apprehensive about situations where I could get hurt.  That includes 3 hour drives to work or two hour drives home from work with an inch of snow coating the highway!  

As I type, Mother Nature is dumping what is said to be another foot of snow on us.  Hopefully , (1) the roads will be cleared by the time I get up in the morning; or (2) my office will open late; or (3) the Mayor of our town will once again declare a Level 3 snow emergency, ordering all non-four-wheel drive vehicles to stay off the road.  Who wants to guess which one I'm hoping for??

Lots of very exciting events coming up:

First, we have construction starting on our basement to create our new office, playroom, half bath and storage areas.  That means we'll be able to get ALL the rooms organized and ready before the baby gets here!

Second, Scott has his first business trip coming up next week...to Miami!  While I can't say I'm thrilled to be without him for a few days (hello, pregnancy hormones!), I am super excited he has finally gotten this opportunity!  He's been lobbying for this since he started working for this company.  And he'll be broadcasting live from the show, so I can watch him whenever I wan while he's gone.  ;-)

Third, we decided to schedule a 3d/4d ultrasound for this weekend.  We had, initially, decided it wasn't something we really wanted to do.  But, lately, Scott has been dying to see Baby B on the big screen again.  We thought it was the perfect time, just before he goes away.  Unfortunately, there are not many places in the area that offer it...only two in Connecticut to be exact, and both of them are over an hour away from us.  Luckily, we found a place in Westchester that just happens to be open on Sunday!  Stay tuned for pics and possibly even video!

Lastly, we have our hospital tour scheduled for tomorrow.  The pamphlet I got at the doctor's office says the hospital offers an alternative birthing room, which I am very excited to see.  There is a free-standing birthing center across the street from the hospital, Scott and I were more comfortable delivering in a hospital...at least for the first baby.

On to something that needs to be done....CLEANING!  While I have done a very good job keeping the house "tidy," meaning things are put in their placed the majority of the time, the place is starting to border on embarrassing.  So, I will be spending the majority of my free time this weekend scrubbing and vacuuming!

Wow...that was a mouthful.  On to the weekly quiz:

How Far along: 29 Weeks 2 Days

Weight gain: Nearly 30 pounds as of my last doctor's appointment...next appointment in a week from today.

 

Maternity Clothes?: Almost exclusively.

Stretch Marks?: Nope.

Sleep?: Good for the most part.  I have a bad night a couple times a week, but or the most part I sleep through the night, without any bathroom breaks or excessive baby acrobats.

Best Moment this week?: Scott and his brother finishing the chair rail in the nursery!  Now just need to finish caulking/painting it and cleaning the room and we can put the furniture where it belongs and get to decorating!

Movement?: Yes!  Starting Monday, I can feel him move pretty much all day long.  I've become mesmerized and find myself watching my stomach contort most of the day!

Food Craving?: Sweets.  I've had a nasty chocolate craving at night.  Luckily, we don't keep much in the house.

Gender?: Boy!

Labor Signs: No thank you!

What I miss?:  My sex drive!  Sorry, I know that may be TMI, but c'mon...it is a pregnancy blog!

 

What I'm looking forward to?: Seeing Baby B on the 3d/4 ultrasound this weekend!

 

Emotions: Really great lately.  Even Scott said today that, in the last couple of weeks, I've been in a better mood then I have the whole pregnancy.  Let's hope it stays that way!!

I'll leave you all with a sneak preview of the chair rail in the nursery.  Looks amazing doesn't it!?!

Hopefully, next week I can post pictures of everything in it's rightful place!

28 Weeks and Nursery Progress

 

(Picture taken at 28 Weeks 1 Day)

How Far along: 28 Weeks 2 Days

Weight gain: Nearly 30 pounds.  I came very close to crying in the doctor's office, but was able to hold back until I left.  I saw a new doctor for my last appointment since I am at the point where I need to meet the others in the practice since Baby B will be delivered by whoever is on call.  When I asked how much weight I had gained, and heard the number, I asked her if there was anything I could do because I generally eat healthy (minus the occasional party or event) and, for the most part, only eat when.  Basically, I expressed my concerns that I have not been going overboard but cant't seem to slow down the weight gain.  Her response was "Well, I've never delivered a 40 lb baby...you're at nearly 30 lbs now and have 13 weeks to go, so you better watch it."  I really hope this woman is not on call when I go into labor.

 

Maternity Clothes?: Almost exclusively.

Stretch Marks?: Nope...still slathering with Palmers every day.

Sleep?: Pretty good.

Best Moment this week?: Painting the nursery and setting up the furniture.

Movement?: Yes!  Today, it seems he has found his way back to my sciatic nerve.  Made for an interesting walk on the treadmill tonight!

Food Craving?: Today, all I wanted was salt and chocolate...leading me to get chocolate covered pretzels, the best invention ever!

Gender?: Boy!

Labor Signs: No thank you!

What I miss?:  My feet...Monday afternoon I noticed my shoes felt tighter then usual.  I kicked them off under my desk and thought they looked swollen, but convinced myself it was all in my head....that is until I came home and Scott said they looked puffy.  Damn!  It has begun!!  I'm sure it will get worse and they really aren't that swollen.

 

What I'm looking forward to?: Putting up the chair rail in the nursery this weekend and and starting to order decorations for the room.

 

Emotions: Generally upbeat...minus the occasional strike of nesting anxiety (hence why I was cleaning house at midnight last night).

Some pictures of the nursery progress (be warned, the walls are not gray, as it seems in the pictures, and the furniture will likely be rearranged):

Update on "Annoyed" Post

So, I made sure to calm myself down before I called my doctor's office this morning...after all, I want them to help me find another appointment, not be so angry with me that they intentionally try to screw me again. 

Anyway, I think I am probably the very first call they received when they turned off the answering service this morning.  I politely say that I showed up for my appointment yesterday and that no one was there.  In return, I get a snarky, "Yeah, well, we had to close because of the weather."  I ignore the remark and continue to tell the receptionist that I need either a Saturday morning appointment or an appointment today or tomorrow after 5:30 pm.  I also, very nicely, tell her that I will see any doctor in either of their offices...just to make this a little easier.

After twenty minutes of what seemed to be her searching through the schedule and several questions, such as:

• How about 3:00 pm tomorrow? (no, I was VERY clear that I could not come before 5:30 pm)
• And who's your doctor? (it doesn't matter...I said I would see anyone)
• Are you already at work right now? (yes, I am)
• Well, when do you normally go into work? (I am here by 8:00 am or earlier unless I have an 8:00 am doctor's appointment)
• Well, why can't you do 8:00 am tomorrow then? (Because I have to be in court in Brooklyn by 8:30 am tomorrow, that's why).

As you can see, my patience is starting to run VERY thin by this point, but I am surprisingly able to keep my composure.  Finally, the woman on the phone gets flustered and hands me off to another receptionist. 

Receptionist #2 is immediately on the defense with me, before I even get one word out.  The first thing she does is lecture me about how my doctor has to be the one to allow me to start seeing the other doctor's in the practice and how I should not be scheduling those appointments on my own.  I calmly tell her that the appointment I had scheduled for yesterday was with a different doctor anyway and that, because of my schedule and how far along I am, I don't care who I see.  She then repeats her lecture.

At this point, I've had enough and have wasted entirely too much time with these people.  I explain to her that on Monday, I was assured by one of the receptionists that they NEVER close.  Then, on Tuesday, my appointment was rescheduled to accomodate the impending storm.  Then, I show up to my appointment and the doors are locked.  Upon her asking, "What did you want us to do...drive in the snow?" I quickly lost my temper and told her that, while the roads were clear enough to pass by 10:00 am yesterday, what I actually expected was for someone in their massive office to take the appointment list home with them and contact those individuals who were supposed to come in yesterday to inform them the office would be closed.  But since they seem to care more about their well-being instead of the well-being of their many pregnant and laboring patients, I would expect them to accomodate the newly rescheduled appointments as best they can.

I also couldn't help but add that the storm went EXACTLY as predicted.  We got the EXACT amount of snow we expected to get and the storm began and ended at the EXACT times we were told it would.  So there were no surprises here.  Thus, if they anticipated the office being closed, they should not have called to reschedule me for later in the day yesterday!

After some more arguing back and forth and me refusing appointments two weeks out, she "miraculously" found an 8:10 am appointment for this upcoming Monday.  I'm looking forward to meeting this pleasant woman on Monday. 

Annoyed!

I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for today at 8:00 am.  On Monday, knowing the forecast for the week contained the snowpocalypse we just experienced, I called my doctor's office to see if I should reschedule.  I was assured by the nurse who answered the phone that they NEVER close...not even during the storm just after Christmas, and that they would be there no matter what.  So, rescheduling was unnecessary.

Skip to the next day (yesterday) when I receive a call from the doctor's office in the afternoon looking to reschedule my appointment due to the impending storm.  They wanted me to come in at 1:10pm today...no biggie and probably better since the snow would have ended by then.  

Fast forward to today.  At 5:45am this morning we receive the recorded phone call from the Mayor of our city letting us know that they have declared a Level 3 snow emergency and that only emergency and four wheel drive cars are allowed on the road.  At 6:15 am, I received the email stating that my office was closed.  When we finally get out of bed (at 9:00 am...whoops!), there is two feet of snow outside.  So Scott decides he's not going to risk driving into the office today and we'll just both work from home (riiiiight).  

The snow had stopped by the time we got out of bed, so it was really just a matter of clearing his car out to get to my doctor's appointment.  By 10:00 am the city had lifted the driving ban and it seemed like the roads were going to be pretty clear by the time we had to leave (not to mention, Scott's XTerra has four-wheel drive and the doctor's office is only bout 5-10 minutes away from us).  

So, we finally clear all the snow off on and around Scott's car, I get ready and we head to the doctor's office.  We got there about 1:00 pm (remember, appointment is at 1:10 pm).  The doors are locked and it looks as though no one has been in the parking lot all day.  BUT, the sign on the door says the office is opening at 10:00 am today due to the snow.  

So, I immediately call the number for the office and get the answering service recording, which states that the office is at lunch and will return at 1:00pm.  So we wait...no big deal since we had gotten there right at 1:00 pm.  After another 30 minutes and calling the answering service numerous times, I finally got a person on the phone.  At which time I am sarcastically told that the recording is wrong and the office was closed today.

I should also mention that I was not the only person to show up for my appointment today...at least three other cars pulled into the lot, confused as to why the doors were locked.  People who had trudged through the snow to clear off their cars and bring their entire families with them to their doctor's appointments.

I immediately become irate...maybe it was the pregnancy hormones or maybe just my usual unwillingness to accept the stupidity of others.  Either way, I immediately start to think about how I'm going to go about getting an appointment now without it interfering with my work day.  Mind you, I have had to work from home three days this month, so far, due to the weather and have some difficulty taking a lot of time off for doctor's appointments.  

Not to mention, all companies and doctor's offices seem to assume that women in this area don't work....as evidenced by their confusion and/or annoyance when you tell them you can't make the 12:00 pm appointment they have available for you.  Well, we'll see what happens when I call first thing tomorrow morning to inform them how inconsiderate it was that no one took the patient list home with them to contact the people who had appointments scheduled for today and that they WILL find me an appointment in the next few days that is either (1) on a weekend; (2) at 8:00 am; or (3) at 6:00 pm.  

Wish them luck  ;-)

27 Weeks and Progress!!

 

 Picture taken today at 27 Weeks 1 Day

How Far along: 26 Weeks 1 Day (Officially in my 3rd Trimester!!)

Weight gain: 23 pounds as of my last appointment about 4 weeks ago.  I have my next appointment tomorrow and will find out the new number (if the snow doesn't keep me from it).  Although, I'm a bit nervous.  Baby B definitely had a growth spurt over the last couple days.  I eat constantly!  I bring a ton of snacks/small meals with me to work (everyone makes fun of my gigantic cooler bag)...I eat and after 30-45 minutes I'm starving again.  Not just hungry...starving....like stomach is going to eat itself starving! 

Maternity Clothes?: Almost exclusively.

Stretch Marks?: Nope...still slathering with Palmers every day.

Sleep?: Not too bad the last few days (*knocks on wood*)...I generally don't go to bed until about 12:00-1:00 am so I pass out pretty quickly and then the alarm goes off just before 6 and I snooze until about 6:15-6:30am depending on the day...which works out great, because it seems to be right about when the baby wakes up. 

Best Moment this week?: Ordering the baby furniture and picking out the paint for the nursery this past weekend!!  See more below...

Movement?: Yes!  Another reason I know Baby B had a growth spurt the last couple of days...he has been moving like I have never felt him move before.  Even Scott was shocked when he felt my stomach last night.  He said it felt like the baby was fighting to get out!

Food Craving?: Nothing in particular...I guess that's a good sign since they say you crave things when you're body isn't getting something it needs.

Gender?: Boy!

Labor Signs: No thank you!

What I miss?:  My body...I was looking through our wedding photos last night and realized just how skinny I was!  And not to get too graphic (but after all, it is a baby blog), but I miss my boobs...we're getting into National Geographic territory over here!!

What I'm looking forward to?: Painting the nursery this weekend and picking up the baby furniture.  We actually got a bit of a shock tonight when Babies R Us called to tell us the furniture had come in.  When we ordered it on Saturday night, they said it would be 7-14 days.  We're not ready yet!!

Emotions: Undecided.  A bit of a cop out, I know.  But I have very mixed emotions this past week:

• Extreme anxiety after realizing we only have 89 days until my due date and felt like we weren't prepared at all.
• An extreme sense of accomplishment and excitement over ordering our nursery furniture and picking out the paint and theme for the nursery.
• Sadness and (slight) crying over commercials such as the 3 day walk for breast cancer commercial and a preview of the interview with the football player from Rutgers who, earlier this year, was paralyzed during a game.
• Slim patience and quick tempers.  For example, when I was waiting in line at the Redbox tonight with six other people waiting for 20 minutes for the woman at the machine to read the description of EVERY movie, including Face/Off.  At which point I informed her that this wasn't Blockbuster and to move it or lose it.  Although I did get a round of applause, so maybe that wasn't so much the pregnancy hormones!
• Nervousness and apprehension over Scott leaving on his first business trip in a couple of weeks, even though I'm super proud and excited for him.

There are so many other emotions I have felt this week, it's hard to keep track!

So....I promised you more information about the nursery.  Last week, Scott and I became very nervous that we had yet to completely clear out the nursery, decide on a theme (let alone paint colors), or decide on/order the baby furniture.  So we vowed to go out and make a decision this past weekend...and we actually did!

We started off at a store called Simply Baby where we found a set we really liked.  Let me preface:  Initially, we had decided against a convertible crib.  We never really liked the high backs or the fact that they really only looked good up against a wall (we wanted to put the crib more towards the center of the room).  We had also been looking for very light/natural colored furniture.  

Well, at Simply Baby, we weren't able to find ANYTHING in the natural wood color in a brand we wanted that wasn't priced through the roof.  However, we did like a really nice Pecan colored set from Munire (the brand I wanted to stay with due to the great reviews in Baby Bargains and on Consumer Reports, as well as the semi-reasonable price tag as compared to other brands).  It was a convertible crib, but we decided that since this furniture was so sturdy, we would want Baby B to grow up with it and the convertible crib was the right choice.  However, once we priced out the whole set, it was more then we had originally planned to spend and, while we didn't mind spending it, we wanted to make sure we didn't like anything less expensive through Babies R Us first.

So, of to Babies R Us we went...luckily, Munire sells a line called Baby Cache at Babies R Us.  Same great workmanship, just a bit less fancy and a much more consumer friendly price tag.  First, I have to say, we NEVER imagined it would be so hard to find natural colored nursery furniture, but apparently espresso is the new fad.  

While we were looking through the Baby Cache catalog in Babies R Us, we saw it...it was perfect: right coloring, very simple.  Just what we wanted!  And without further adieu...

We also decided on the colors and theme for the room.  We have decided on a nautical/beach theme:  I wanted beach, Scott wanted Nautical, so we're going to do a bit of both (both subtle and not over the top though, since we both prefer minimalism here). 

We have decided to paint the lower part of the walls a darker blue (Valspar Seaside Retreat Stormy Waters) and the top part of the walls a lighter blue (Valspar Seaside Retreat Blue Mirage) with a whie chair rail between the two colors.  We thought it would go really well with our "sand" colored rug and the natural colored furniture.  Very beachy!

And the most excited part...we saved a TON of money with coupons and other deals, leaving me enough money in the baby furniture budget to buy the baker's rack/hutch I've been dying to buy for the kitchen. We finally found one we really like.  It hasn't been the easiest thing, since we preferred closed cabinets and those usually run from $1500+, which were NOT willing to pay.  But we found this one for a fraction of the cost and jumped on it!  So, hopefully, it will be here in about a week or so and I can start on my kitchen reorganization!

It matches perfectly with our cherry cabinets and black/cherry kitchen table set. 

I think that's it for this week...stay tuned for the completion of the nursery!

26 Weeks

 

OMG, I'm gigantic in this picture!!   All day yesterday (when this picture was taken) it felt like Baby B was trying to push his way out the front of my belly, which is probably why I look so big here.

How Far along: 26 Weeks 1 Day

Weight gain: 23 pounds as of my last appointment...I'll know the new number next Wednesday.

Maternity Clothes?: Almost exclusively, except for one pair of pants and a few longer stretchy pre-preg shirts.

Stretch Marks?: Nope

Sleep?: Depends on the day...last night I was so tired I passed right out...but a lot of nights my racing mind keeps me up. 

Best Moment this week?: Getting a ton of stuff done around the house on Sunday.

Movement?: Yes!  

Food Craving?: Nothing in particular 

Gender?: Boy!

Labor Signs: Not for at least 10 weeks please!

What I miss?:  Being able to bend over without feeling like my lungs are being squished.

What I'm looking forward to?: Looking at baby furniture this weekend (postponed from last weekend)!

Emotions: Better then last week...thank god!!  I've come out of the week or two of crazy out of control emotions and into full blown nesting...all I can think about all day is the organization and cleaning and rearranging I want to do in every room...just the kitchen and basement left to do.  And the nursery of course.

Another Purchase

I'm on a roll today...finally decided on and ordered the monthly onesie stickers!

New Years Eve 2010-2011

For New Year's Eve this year, we went to the annual Szymczak house party.  It was Scott's night, meaning he was able to dictate when we left, since he has a built in designated driver for the next few months.  But I wound up catching him by surprise.  He assumed I would be passed out somewhere by 1am and that we would just take off.  Well, 330am came and I was still wide awake, while he was falling asleep standing up.  So, we got home about 4am and I was still wide awake.  I think I'm getting used to not sleeping very much!

 

Trying to feel the baby...but the louder it was, the quieter he got

 

Trying to hear the baby!

Christmas 2010

I can't believe the holidays are already over.  It was like a whirlwind and now I miss it!!  

We were lucky to have Dan, Nicole and our new nephew, Grayson, staying with us for Christmas this year.  We spent Christmas Eve with Scott's family for the annual holiday celebration and then spent Christmas Day with my family, which ended with us watching hours of old home movies.  it was awesome!  

Unfortunately, with the impending blizzard headed our way and Grayson coming down with croup, Nicole and Dan left earlier then planned, but it was great to spend some extra time with them anyway!  Next time we see them, we'll have another little boy to throw into the mix!

 

At Rockefeller Center the week before Christmas

 

Scott getting some practice

 

"Do you really need to flash that thing in my face?!"

 

Grayson opening his Christmas gift

 

I think he liked the wrapping paper more!

 

And now a couple of pics from the Bouchard Christmas Eve celebration (sorry I don't have many!):

Gift time!!

 

Four generations of Bouchards

 Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from Christmas Day  =(

Bahamas

I completely forgot to update everyone on our trip to the Bahamas last month.  We went for the weekend of my birthday.  While it was only 2 nights, we knew we wouldn't have time to take another trip like that before the baby is born, so we took advantage.  Luckily, we had won two free nights at any Sandals during our honeymoon.  We had initially planned a week long trip to Jamaica in October, but wound up having to cancel.  Since it was going to be such a short trip, we decided to go to the closest location available.  

I have to say, while we had a great time and it was nice to get away, it wasn't all that much different then vacationing in Florida.  First, the weather is identical, considering it's only about a 45 minute flight from Miami.  Also, it is VERY Americanized...a little too much for my taste, but I know a lot of people who prefer that.  I think if we ever go back, we will stay at Atlantis.  I've heard great things about it.  If our trip had been longer, we probably would have done a day trip there, but maybe next time!

I'll leave you with some pictures:

 Scott relaxing with a cigar and a drink...for both of us!

 Biggest pool table I've ever seen

 A view of the Sandals private island in the distance

 

The building our room was in

 Cruise ship heading to the area near Atlantis

 

Sandals private island

 

Sandals private island...waiting for the boat back to the resort

 

Relaxing before we have to catch our flight home

 Relaxing on our last day

About to head back to the airport