Aloha!

Aloha from Kona! Jay and I arrived last night after an easy flight. We hopped in our rented Mustang convertible and found our way to our condo. It is a beautiful two bedroom two bathroom unit with a patio right on a golf course. It has a great kitchen and a massive master bathroom with a walk in closet. We went grocery shopping and this morning we enjoyed a lovely home made breakfast on the patio.

It's still only 7:30 here, so we have a full day ahead of us. I'm not sure what we are planning quite yet, but we are definitely enjoying our gorgeous place in the gorgeous weather.

Ticker Change Thursday - 15 Weeks!

Baby is 15 weeks now! Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your Baby is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though I still can't feel the movements.

How far along? 15 Weeks Today
Weight gain/loss: Still only 10 pounds! I was so relieved that I didn't gain a ton of weight in the last 3 1/2 weeks.
Maternity clothes? I've been ordered to stop purchasing these by Jay. I admit, it's hard for me to resist clothes shopping.
Sleep? Back to normal. I'm not tired at all and have no trouble waking up in the morning for work.
Best moment this week? Getting the patio furniture put together - our front patio looks fantastic now.
Movement: Not yet. I'm getting impatient on this one though!
Food cravings: Juice and tea.
Gender: BOY!!!!! (Disclaimer: the tech said this is a guess still, so we are not 100% sure, although I'd be surprised if she was wrong.) We will have another ultrasound in about 3 weeks and will know the answer to this one for sure.
Belly button in or out? In.
What I miss? Nothing.
What I am looking forward to? Hawaii!! Only 2 days away.
Milestones: For some reason the 15 week mark has always stuck in my head as an important one, so I guess today is a big milestone for me.
What I'm nervous about: Getting all of my work done before I leave for vacation. Work is crazy today!

Thank Heaven for Online Registries

I have completed our two baby registries and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I cheated a little bit because my very good friend and colleague is also having a baby boy in July and she did a lot of research on all sorts of different products and I basically copied all of the stuff she added to her registry.

It was also fairly easy because I was able to do all of it from the comfort of my desk online. No need to trek all the way to Tustin for me!

For now, I am using the registries as personal shopping lists and have included things I want to buy for the nursery and otherwise.

5 Days until Bliss!!

We are headed to Hawaii on Saturday and I can't wait! We are going to the Big Island for a friend's wedding at the Mauna Kea. We are staying in some nearby condos that we got a great deal on through a different friend. I can't wait for a whole week of relaxation and beautiful sunsets.

Ticker Change Thursday - 14 Weeks!

Baby is 14 weeks today and about the size of a lemon. Baby is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth.

How far along? 14 Weeks Today
Weight gain/loss: Unknown. Probably up 12-13 lbs if I had to guess.
Maternity clothes? Just ordered a few new pieces for our trip to Hawaii.
Sleep? I'm not as tired as I used to be, so I haven't been taking any weekend naps. It's nice.
Best moment this week? Getting the first thing I ordered for the nursery in the mail - a valance.
Movement: Not yet, but hopefully very soon!
Food cravings: Nothing of note. Normal appetite is really back, I am just hungrier than usual.
Gender: BOY!!!!! (Disclaimer: the tech said this is a guess still, so we are not 100% sure, although I'd be surprised if she was wrong.)
Belly button in or out? In.
What I miss? Nothing.
What I am looking forward to? Hawaii!! Only 1 week and 2 days away.
Milestones: I am officially in my second trimester.
What I'm nervous about: I'm feeling pretty calm these days.

Bittersweet Day

Today marks two big milestones for me: (1) it is my due date for the baby we lost and (2) it is the first day of my second trimester.

I was hoping to take today off from work and have some time to relax on my own, but unfortunately I have a big client meeting scheduled today. Hopefully I can leave early.

Spain!

I just booked our tickets to Spain for Jay's sister's wedding in September. Don't worry, I got the go ahead from my OB first.

After having a mild heart attack at the ridiculous price of the plane tickets for business class, we decided that I would be sitting up front in style and Jay, alas, will be roughing it back in coach on his own. I'll be sure to bring him my free champagne.

We are very excited to go to Spain. We've talked about doing this trip for a long time so this will a great chance for us to get in some last minute travel before the baby comes.

Hopefully I will have enough energy to get lots of sight seeing in, even if I can't end the day with a nice glass of wine.

Plus, we get to see all of Jay's family, many of whom I've never met. This should be a wonderful trip.

Next Steps

Two weeks from today I will have another appointment with my OB. These are usually pretty uneventful after the weigh in. She will give me a referral for my next ultrasound, which will be the "Big u/s" where we will find out with more certainty that baby really is a boy. I imagine that u/s will take place in about 4 weeks.

Ticker Change Thursday - 13 Weeks!

Joaquin is 13 weeks today and about the size of a peach! He is forming teeth and vocal cords. He is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy.

How far along? 13 Weeks Today
Weight gain/loss: Up 10 pounds the last time I checked.
Maternity clothes? Yes, but I haven't been shopping much recently.
Sleep? Our new bed is AMAZING. I can't believe we waited this long to buy a decent mattress.
Best moment this week? Seeing our healthy baby on Wednesday and finding out there is basically no chance of some common genetic disorders.
Movement: I hope this happens soon. Some people say they have felt flutters in week 14. That would be great! Most likely it will be another month though.
Food cravings: Anything home cooked. We haven't been able to cook since the move and I'm starting to get sick of eating out.
Gender: BOY!!!!!
Belly button in or out? Still in, although I can see a lot more of it than I used to.
What I miss? Nothing.
What I am looking forward to? Getting a washer/dryer today, finally!
Milestones: We moved and found out we have a healthy baby boy this week, so two big milestones!
What I'm nervous about: I am hoping we can organize the new place quickly. It is uncomfortable living in chaos!

Nursery Decor!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you know me at all, you should not be surprised that I have already picked out our nursery bedding and related decor, which will look like the picture above. It is from Pottery Barn Kids and I will be purchasing it piece by piece as our budget allows.

We are going to buy mahogany furniture though, rather than the white furniture in the picture.

I love this set because I can buy the really great wall decals in the picture, which almost look hand painted but don't require me to have any artistic ability whatsoever (because, really, do we even want to have a nursery that I have any part of hand painting?).

I guess first thing's first though - I need to clear out the nursery that is currently filled with all of the stuff I haven't unpacked.

NT Scan Pictures

Here are some pictures from our NT Scan today. From top to bottom they are as follows:

* Baby's bum (he is basically sitting on the camera in this picture. This is the picture that made the u/s technician think we are having a boy - I'm convinced!).

* Baby's profile

* Baby's face from the front

Isn't he cute?!?!

NT Results

NT Scan was a sucess! No abnormalities found and it's pretty obvious we are having a BOY!!!!!!

Move Update

We have water!! I am thrilled.

I am also sitting at home as we speak while our new bed frame is built and our new mattress is delivered. Yay!

Tomorrow we will get our washer and dryer, so unfortunately, we will not have clean sheets for the new bed until tomorrow.

And, on Wednesday morning, we will finally get cable, our own internet (I confess I am using someone else's wireless network right now) and phone.

Jay is also bringing the level home from his office today so we can hang our medicine cabinet (um, who designs a master bathroom without a medicine cabinet?) and an extra hanging shelving unit for our bathroom, as storage space is quite limited.

We are getting there. This should feel like "home" very soon.

Longer term projects include getting our TV mounted over the fireplace, having a mantle built, building a gate for our front patio, buying some patio furniture and a fire pit and, of course, decorating the nursery.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day first to my mom, Rebecca, who has always been the best mother anyone could ever ask for. Thanks for coming up to help with the move, it made the process much easier! Also, happy Mother's Day to Gery, who has been a wonderful "mom" since I was four year old. And another happy Mother's Day to Dayle, who is largely responsible for raising the fabulous man I call my husband and has been a great "mom" to me for the last 8 years (can you all believe that Jay and I will have been together 8 years this week?!).

Happy Mother's Day to all of my many wonderful grand mothers as well: Grams, Grandma, Ava, Nano and Nini.

Another special happy Mother's Day to all of my expecting mother friends. And finally, a most heartfelt happy Mother's Day to many of my friends following this blog who have lost their babies. Even though most people don't know it, you are all mothers who deserve to be celebrated. I hope each and every one of you has the great fortune to hold your own babies very soon.

As for me, I had quite an eventful Mother's Day weekend with our move. We have most of our stuff in the new place and just have a lot of organizing to do. I can't believe how much stuff we fit into a two bedroom apartment! We are still without running water in our new place but will get it tomorrow (hopefully), so as a finale to my Mother's Day, we are heading back to our old apartment to take showers.

Jay also spoiled me with a surprise gift of Godiva chocolates and this.

Ticker Change Thursday - 12 weeks!!

Baby is 12 weeks today and the size of a plum. At this time, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed.


How far along? 12 Weeks Today
Weight gain/loss: I've gained a total of 10 pounds already. I would really like to meet one of those people who loses weight in their first trimester.
Maternity clothes? After further damage at the boutique in Costa Mesa, I have transitioned into a wardrobe entirely composed of maternity clothes.
Stretch marks? No.
Sleep? Only 4 more nights of sleep on the old bed!
Best moment this week? Today - 12 weeks seems so far along to me!
Movement: Not yet, but maybe within the next 5-7 weeks.
Food cravings: Cheeseburgers.
Gender: I'm still guessing girl. My OB guessed a girl. My acupuncturist guessed girl. One of the women at my office guessed a girl. So, of course, we are going to have a boy.
Belly button in or out? Still in, although I can see a lot more of it than I used to.
What I miss? Energy and advil.
What I am looking forward to? My NT Scan. 6 more days!
Milestones: This is our last week in the old apartment. Moving day in 2 days!
What I'm nervous about: I'm still a little nervous about the NT Scan and about moving. I hope it isn't too much work and we fit everything in the new place.

200 Days Left!

80 down, 200 to go! We are getting more and more excited about November and just can't wait to finally meet our baby.