Tuesday, November 30, 2010

30 week check up

We had our midwife check up yesterday and things looked great. My blood pressure and weight were right on target and the Baby’s heart beat was in the low 150s. It’s always fun to hear the Baby’s heart beat, that will never get old.
I must say, being at the meetings/appointments with six or seven other pregnant women makes me realize how blessed I have been with this pregnancy. We often talk about what we’re going through, what people are struggling with and how to combat different symptoms. For the most part I’ve been having an easy pregnancy. There are times when I complain, just ask Austin (he usually the one I complain to), but overall it’s been smooth sailing. Let’s hope and pray that it continues that way!

Oh the small things that make me happy!


My sister in law and I ran by Old Navy on Black Friday (post 4am) on our way to the Spa (most amazing massage I ever had! Thank you…xoxoox). Anyway, I found a great pair of brown pants. They have a “regular” waist that just stretches on the side. AMAZING! Yes, I’m that excited about my new pair of pants. I can’t wait to wear them again, so comfortable and look stylish too!

Water....more water?


I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I’m officially sick of water. Over the last two days, I’ve noticed that I have no desire to drink it. I know I should, and I do (don’t start yelling at me, I get the right amount everyday), but it’s strange to have been a person who LOVED water, to now be a place where I would much rather drink something else. Thankfully, the only other thing in our house is milk, so I guess that leaves me with water most of the time.

Travel


I’m preparing to fly home this week for my baby shower. I can’t wait to get there and see everyone and for everyone to get to see the Baby Stutz Belly. It will be a long day tomorrow, as I’m getting to work at 6am and not getting into Boston until 11:30pm (there time!). I’m hoping for lots of rest on the plane, a comfortable plane ride, no irritability and no swelling. You’re prayers would be appreciated (I know, I’m not guaranteed all of the above requests, so if I had to ask for one, I would for no irritability!). See some of you soon!!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Turkey Day Belly


Post food of course! Please excuse the pleasant look on my face...Austin was messing around with the camera and I was the beautiful model!

Christmas for Thanksgiving...



Thanksgiving has come and gone, as so has Christmas in the Stutz house, well, sort of. Austin's family was in town for the weekend and won't be back for Christmas so we decided to celebrate both. Eli called it "Merry Thanksgiving". After a delicious dinner and many hours later we opened our Christmas presents! As always it was so much fun watching the kiddos open their gifts.

As for being pregnant at Thanksgiving, I can't really complain. I would have liked to have had seconds, thirds and forths, but the plate I did have filled me up until 7ish. I have one plate left, at 9 Bourbeau, that I can't wait to eat when I get there on Thursday!

Hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving, we can't believe that next year we'll have our own little nugget to carry around with us. We're so thankful and blessed to be having a great pregnancy (not sure who is more thankful for that...I would say me!) and we can't wait to meet Baby Stutz!

Mini Photo Shoot

My sister in law took a few pictures for us on Thanksgiving. I figured since I went through all the trouble of looking nice for at least 4 hours (right after these were taken, the yoga pants went on!), that I should try and capture a few photos of us "dressed up" and pregnant.

Acting silly....as usually!


Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Surprise Visit

Our old neighbors surprised us last night by stopping by. They now live in Vegas and we don’t get to see them often. Casey and I have been trying to figure out a time to see each other over Thanksgiving day, but hadn’t finalized anything just yet. Anyway, they showed up to say a quick hello. It was so nice to see them and get hugs from Casey. When they lived here I loved having Casey as a neighbor, especially when she was pregnant with Dylan (their little girl!). I would talk to that little Belly all day long! Oh, those were the days! Thanks for coming by to say hi and looking at all the Baby stuff with me!! I miss you Cas and wish you were closer so we could see each other more often.
P.S-I know you hate this picture, but it was the only one I could find of us, which is NOT ok!

Working out

I’ve been motivated the energized the last two days to go and workout. Ok, let’s stop there and define “working out”. In the past I would bust out a good hard workout, now a days I’m lucky if I can make it 20 minutes on the bike. Every time I go to work out, I have all intentions of doing a little cardio and some weights, which never happens. I will say though, that I love being in the bike for 20 minutes, ipod on, good book in hand. Maybe it’s the only 20 minutes I have to myself, where I don’t feel like I should be somewhere else or doing something else. Regardless, I hope to keep it up as long as I can. I will say that I still reap the benefits of working out: better sleep and more energy! I’ll keep working out, just so I can sleep through the night.

To my Fans...

Some people, I will not name names, think that I need to update the blog more often. Truthfully, I’m running out of things to write, without sounds beyond boring. But if the fans are requesting it, then I’ll do it! Ok, maybe I’m getting a little carried away. Only a person or two have said that I should write more often, I’m not sure that classifies as fans. But I do love hearing that people are enjoying the blog and seeing the belly. Sometimes I think I’m just writing for myself, and of course Baby Stutz (being that I think I’ll print out the entire blog and put it in his/her baby book?! Just an idea!).

All Hands on Belly!


Last night Austin and I were lying on the couch watching TV when my belly started moving a bunch. I must admit, I have a small obsession of watching my belly. I love to see it move and shift in different directions. And it’s hysterical when the entire belly shakes like crazy (although I’m the only one who has been witness to that particular movement!). Anyway, back to my post. Austin saw my belly moving and put his hand there to fell the baby. Of course, for a few minutes the Baby didn’t move at all. At which point, Austin informed me he has a calming sense on the Baby. I sure hope he’s right, I would love for him to be able to just pick up the nugget (once he/she is born or course) and be able to calm him/her down right away! But of course the Baby eventually started moving again and Austin got to feel a lot of the new rolls and twists the Baby’s been doing lately.

Moving into my Ribs...No Thank you!

The baby is much higher than I’m used to, although thankfully not in my ribs just yet, I’m hoping to keep it that way (is that even a possibility?) But boy is he/she really high. As I started to write for my weekly update the Baby made a nice swoop up into who knows where and flipped around. The flipping seems to be the re-accruing pattern with the Baby lately. In fact, last night, although it didn’t fully wake me up and keep me up, the Baby was doing flips and somersaults all night long. Gone are the days of small kicks and soft moves.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Mini-Surprise Baby Shower


Sunday a few girlfriends of mine threw myself and my friend Kristin a Mini-Surprise Baby shower. It was in conjunction with a girl’s get together for lunch and neither of us had any idea, hence surprise! They showered up with beautiful cards and a nice gift card. What a great day to start the week! Enjoy some of the pictures; it’s clear I’m getting BIGGER!




Baby Cupcakes!!
Getting lots of love from the girls!! Jen and Jenny LOVE feeling Baby Stutz move. And I don't mind a good belly rub!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Rings, Sneakers and Legs

It's sad when you're happy to report that you can still wear your wedding rings, tie your own sneakers and shave your legs. Yes, it's the small things that you learn to cherish when you're pregnant. I know the day is coming when I have to ask Austin to lace up my sneakers before I go out for a walk, for now I'll continue to celebrate my milestone.

Food

I'm hungry, there's no surprise there. I've always been someone who ate every two hours or so. But I've started to notice that what I used to be able to eat, like a full sandwich, is now way to much food. I've resorted to dragging out my meals for at least an hour or eating half of something and waiting a full hour to eat the other half. It's tricky, because my mind keeps telling me that I'm still hungry, that I want to finish what's on my plate, but my stomach has an entirely different take on things. I've started to notice that when I don't listen to my stomach, I end up uncomfortably full for hours. Guess I'll start listening from now on.

Beasting...

I had my first really bad mood night, and boy was it bad. So bad in fact, that I called Austin the next day to apologize and thank him for being there for me and putting up with me. Yes, it was that bad, and for no real reason. I was full from my 1/2 cup of soup, that didn't take that good to begin with (which for pregnant me, apparently is enough to send me into a tail spin with my mood), Baby Stutz was moving up into my ribs and I couldn't for the life of me get comfortable. Needless to say I was a little bit of a BEAST!

I started to realize that I might be entering "That Part" of pregnancy. I'm trying to cherish each day and week that I can before I'm completely beyond uncomfortable.

And the Belly Pops Out



Seriously, the belly is getting bigger everyday. I know I've said that in the past, but now it's actually true!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Hiccups

Baby Stutz woke up yesterday morning with the hiccups. It was the first time he/she had had the hiccups, or at least the first time we had been able to feel them. Austin was even able to feel them!

If waking up to them wasn’t enough, the poor little nugget got them again last night when I went to bed! I feel asleep to the constant thump in my belly.

Practice for Motherhood

What a week!
My sister and her cute little baby girl came to visit for a week, hence no updates or pictures on the website. I was completely consumed with spending every waking second with both of them. I hadn’t seen Chiara since she was three weeks old and wanted to all the “Auntie bonding time” I could possible get. We spend the week going out to lunch, shopping in Scottsdale, taking a hike, many morning walks, a trip to the botanical gardens for the chili and chocolate festival, evening baths and morning waking up together.

Our time together was precious. Toward the end of the week my sister asked me what my thoughts were on the “firsthand look at motherhood?” My answer was simple: I loved how it slowed down life, how you had to take time to stop and play with a smiling baby, or put off doing dishes to give the nugget a bath. I realized quickly that my house would never (ok, not never, but not for a LONG TIME) be organized or completely “put away” again. But surprisingly, I was ok with that. I would much rather give Chiara a bath then pick up baby toys! Learning that lesson before Baby Stutz arrived was valuable to me (to us), I know have no expectations for what my house will look like, what I’ll be able to accomplish in a day or how I’ll keep everything clean.

I think I’m ready to be a Mom, in fact, I can’t wait. And Austin seems ready to be a Dad. Chiara loved her Uncle Austin and at times only had eyes for him! She loved hanging out with him on the hike, reading books with him and just sitting with him.

It was such a wonderful week and I’m so thankful to have had so much time with my sister and Baby C!

Enjoy the pictures!



Out to lunch in Scottsdale at the Orange Table (YUM!!) Chiara and Baby Stutz bonding-it seemed like everytime I held Chiara, Baby Stutz would move all around and try to kick. I took it as cousin bonding time!
Hiking with Uncle Austin!

Big smiles in the morning!


A little photo shoot in Scottsdale...check out that hair!



At the Botanical Gardens





Glucose Test


Last Friday I was scheduled to take my Glucose test to see if I had gestational diabetes. I was praying this wasn’t the case, as I didn’t want to have to really watch what I was eating on a regular basis. For the most part, I think I’ve stayed fairly healthy for being pregnant. I don’t give in to wanting pizza everyday and thankfully I haven’t had strong cravings for anything. But still, the thought of not being able to eat what I wanted if I wanted it, when of all times, I should be able to eat whatever I want, was not an appealing thought.

So Friday morning Mant, Chiara and I headed to the Dr. office. Once there I had 5 minutes to drink, what tasted like fruit punch. I had heard that the drink was horrible, but I didn’t find it that bad, not something I would consume on a regular basis, but not the worst thing I’ve had to drink before. After you drink the sugar you have to wait 1 hour before they check your blood sugar. Mant and I spend the next hour walking. The weather was perfect for a nice walk outside. Baby C slept most of the time, what a good little girl!

After an hour I had my blood drawn and met with my midwife for my regular visit and RoGam shot.

I got the call on Monday that my sugar levels all came back negative for gestational diabetes! Yahooo!!! Bring on the pumpkin pie, cookies, Ice cream….Just kidding, I would much rather have the full thanksgiving dinner than anything else! I was just thankful that if I wanted to eat the pie I could.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Hiking Bunting!



Austin, Amanda, Chiara and I decided to go for an evening hike. The weather was beautiful. We didn't got to the peak of the trail, mainly because the sun was setting and we wanted to make sure were didn't have to come back down in the dark. Enjoy the few photos of the belly hiking! Chiara did amazing hiking, she loved looking around at everything and really enjoyed being able to see up so high (Uncle Austin had her in the Baby Carrier!)

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Family Circle Update

We had our “Dr. Appointment” yesterday, well last night really. I think I mentioned it before, but we meet with our Midwife and 7 other couples that are due around the same time we are, to go over different birthing information and talk about our pregnancies. I must say, going to the meetings make me feel good about myself, is that wrong? I can’t believe I’m omitting that. But seriously, it’s comforting to hear what everyone is going through and be able to compare it to our pregnancy. Apparently, I’m having a great pregnancy and don’t experience half the stuff that most of the girls in my group are experiencing. Please God, help it to stay that way. And actually, I’ve learned a lot of information and helpful hints from the girls, for example, three of them have flown in the last three weeks and blew up from swelling. Guess I better start looking for a full body compression suit for my flight in December. If I’m all swollen at the Baby Shower, you’ll know why!
Everything checked out good health wise. My blood pressure was 104/61, pulse 54, weight good and on track, so that was good to hear. The Baby’s heart beat was between 140-151 and sounded nice and strong.
The belly is growing, of course and I’m finding that it’s more and more uncomfortable to do things I use to be able to. It’s much harder to reach over and pick up something off the floor of the car or close the air vent, or give something to the little girl I nanny for in the back seat. Guess that comes with a bigger belly and less room to move around! I will try and post more pictures this week.
Friday I have a appointment for my ROGAM shot and Glucose test. The ROGAM shot is given to me because my blood type is O negative. I have to get it now and maybe again at birth, depending on the Baby’s blood type. There is a whole bunch of information that goes along with this, but it would probably be boring to most of you, so I’ll spare you the details.
The Glucose test, on the other hand, is to test my blood sugar and see how my body does processing the sugar. I pray that it comes back normal and I don’t have to go on some crazy Gestational Diabetic Diet. I strongly dislike any sugar free things and don’t want to have to monitor what I’m eating, more than I already do.
Amanda and Chiara will be with me for my appointment. It will be fun having someone there to hangout with, especially for the Glucose test, where I have to wait an hour to have my blood drawn!
That’s all that’s really going on in our world with Baby Stutz. I’ve been sleeping well, and hope to continue that trend as long as possible.
Pictures to follow!

Buntsville

Amanda and Chiara get in today!! I’ve been stalking their flight, yes stalking, online all morning. I can’t wait to leave work, head to the airport and see them when they get off the plane! I haven’t seen either of them for three months, so I’m excited to have some bonding time. It’s been fun getting ready for their arrival; the crib and mattress are all set up, changing table ready and a car seat in my car. It’s almost like there is a baby coming, oh wait, there is, just not Baby Stutz! We’ll update you on the adventures of a Pregnant Women and her sister-Mother of a Four Month Old.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

A few things

Our church had a huge yard sale this weekend and I scored some great books. They were all hard cover and in amazing condition. I love books!!


When I was cleaning and organizing a closet a few weeks back, I came across Austin's First pair of shoes. I couldn't help but take them out and put them in Baby Stutz's room! Now, if only I can find an extra lacing, I'll have Baby Stutz wear them!

Yesterday we decided to set up the crib, not just for Baby Stutz, but for Chiara as well! It's just about done, now all week need is a mattress! Also pictured is the glider, thanks Nana, I'm sure you'll be using it every day (or night!!!).


The belly's popping out

Here are a few pictures from early this morning. Growing??





Wednesday, November 3, 2010

2am....seriously

I've been up for the last hour, yes UP. I finally decided to get out of bed, although I'm not sure what I hoped to accomplish. I had thoughts of cleaning the house, but that's a little to much work for 2am. Hoping this isn't something that's going to become a regular habit over the next three months. I would much rather be asleep. Hoping my nose, throat and Baby Stutz let me get back to sleep soon.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Lost Count

I’m actually 26 weeks today. Not sure why I put 27 weeks last week, opps! Guess I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Anyway, I received an email today that said 98 days to go! We’re closing in on the home stretch.