{20 Weeks}

As of right now, time has been FLYING by. Each Monday morning I wake up knowing that it is a new week of pregnancy and Mondays just keep coming faster and faster. I’m hoping that time doesn’t stand still now that we have reached the half way point. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve mentioned quite a few times at how much I love being pregnant (and I really do) but after such a great ultrasound on Thursday I just can’t wait to meet our baby girl.

The excitement of Thursday turned into a whirlwind of emotions with “over the moon” probably at the top. I could NOT resist going out that weekend to look for something cute and pink and also to start our baby registry. The cute and pink was not a problem and actually Abbey was already spoiled by Grandma Carol with a cute dress, her Great Great Aunt Sue with a cute outfit (love the lacey butt) and her Grandma Bird with a soothing froggie night-light. *Spoiled Baby Alert*

Registering was…… well…..flat out overwhelming! If you have never been to BuyBuyBaby in Deerfield, let me say that it is a pretty cool store. However, just like BedBathBeyond (sister store) there is just so much. The first thing we registered for was a baby gate and we spent way too much time thinking about which baby gate would be right for our house. Not too mention the fact that there is an entire aisle of baby gates to choose from. George, myself and my cousin, Kat,  perused the aisles checking out all the cool stuff such as the spill proof bowls. You can actually drop this bowl on to the ground but it will not spill! The bowl closes itself up before it hits the ground. Of course George wanted to register for this, hell, I was half tempted to buy it on the spot to take home and try out for myself.

Moving on to the car seat and stroller system. Yes, it is a SYSTEM but a way cool system that we decided on. Some car seats come with a stroller as a matching set but I was pretty unhappy with most of the “sets” because they looked like big chunks of plastic and pretty much seemed cheap to me. Not too mention that I was looking for a car seat that I could actually carry and get baby in and out of without much frustration. After being around quite a few babies recently and checking out what they have I’ve started a mental checklist of features I like and don’t like in the frequently used items column, a.k.a. car seat and stroller. We “settled” on a car seat then moved on to the stroller system. Wow, this system is cool. It essentially grows with your family with the ability to tote around 3 kids. You start out with the base and your own car seat that you choose, then you can add another “seat” or you can add a kick-board where one kid can stand. At first I thought it looked too big but it folded up super easy and George gave it his test on maneuverability. Meaning, George literally ran around the store with the stroller making quick turns and gave it a thumbs up. Back to the car seat, we settled on one at the store but then I had George research the safest ones out there and we ended up being happy with the one we finally picked. All is right in the world! One last thing that I thought was cool at BuyBuyBaby, they have COUPONS!!!!

{Belly Updates}

Okay…..on to the 20 Week belly updates:

{How far along?} 20 Weeks 3 days

{Total weight gain} Recent doctor appointment + 2.5 pounds for a whole month (I was proud of myself) and only a total gain of 5 pounds for the pregnancy so far. My favorite nurse, Amy, said that it was all baby and belly which was nice to hear.

{How big is baby?} Abbey is getting so big! At the ultrasound last week she was already 13 ounces, according to the 20 week update I receive the baby should be about 10 ounces in weight and about 6-1/2 inches long.

{Maternity clothes?} Yes

{Sleep?} My sleep is good, George’s sleep is not so good. I tend to sprawl out in a queen size bed that really isn’t working for us right now. I woke up yesterday and found George on the couch because he was literally getting a sliver of bed space. That pushed me into a research frenzy on king size beds. I’m OKAY with this purchase except for the fact that our bedroom will be one giant bed. I’d rather get the sleep so king size bed/mattress shopping will be very soon. Any suggestions of what you like and where to find inexpensive would be greatly appreciated!

{Best moment this week?} Without a doubt this would be our ultrasound. You have already read George’s blog about last Thursday so I won’t go into all the details again. BUT I will say that seeing a healthy baby was crazy amazing!  Hearing the u/s tech say that there was amniotic fluid in the sac brought a smile to my face, then she said there were 3 vessels from the umbilical cord and the smile got bigger but when she checked the neck and said it was thin, it brought tears to my eyes. Our baby is healthy!

{Movement?} On Thursday I drank orange juice to make sure Abbey was moving around enough for the u/s tech to capture her private part and it worked! Abbey was moving like crazy and I could feel it mostly. But since then I haven’t felt much even though we know she is moving. At our doc appointment with Dr. Caligaris on Monday he was trying to get her heartbeat (which he found) but she was moving around so much. I’m sure I’ll feel it more and more with time. I can’t wait to be full-on-kicked.

{Food cravings?} I’m still very much into golden delicious apples and Jiff creamy peanut butter but I think my newest craving would be a pepperoni and cheese calzone from LaRosa’s. I had one on Friday and have been thinking about it ever since.

{Labor signs?} Nope!

{Belly button in or out?} In

{What I miss} Besides the ice cold beer I can’t really complain about much. I’ve been pregnant almost an entire year (minus 2-1/2 months) so I guess I’m pretty much used to all the other things I can’t have. Oh wait, I ordered a salad yesterday for lunch and had to tell the waiter that I didn’t want bleu cheese. I lied, I DID want the damn bleu cheese but its on the list of can’t haves.

{What I’m looking forward to} Wow, this is a tough one to answer since we made it past our big ultrasound with flying colors. I guess I’m looking forward to finishing up Abbey’s room, sorting through all the goodies we have so far, finishing up our registry…. OH and redoing our bathroom. More on that to come.

{Milestone} I’m halfway there and Baby Abbey Road Herron is healthy!