The Baby Blanket

Last week Clint and I went to Wal-Mart, and I remembered that I wanted to get some stuff to make a baby blanket.  So, we looked at the books (mostly me looking and Clint pacing the aisle), and I found a book that had lessons and a blanket that we both liked.  It is kind of star shaped so I thought it would be pretty hard, but it looks cool so I decided to give it a try.  Then we picked out the colors for the yarn.  I let Clint do this, and he picked pink and off white.  So, that night I started the lessons and finished them in a couple of days.  Then I started on the blanket.  I think I redid the center 3 or 4 times until I thought it looked right.  Then I went onto the 2nd row and was pretty much at a standstill because I couldn't understand the directions.  If you have ever croucheted before, you know the directions don't have many nouns or verbs.  They are pretty much just numbers and abbreviations.  So, I went back to Wal-Mart to seek the help of someone with some experience.  The lady there was very helpful, and I made sure I had a good start before I left there.  Since then I have been working on it in bed at night and in the mornings if I wake up early and can't go back to sleep or in the afternoon if I am watching my soaps.  Clint is getting a little jealous of the blanket...it seems I might be giving it a little too much attention.  But, it is so addictive that it is all I want to do if we are sitting in front of the TV or laying in bed (I even did one of the lessons in the car the other day).  It is looking good, and I really like the colors Clint picked.  But, it is coming along SLOWLY.  It is going to take hours and hours to finish.  I am leaving for Las Vegas tomorrow, so I will have a couple of hours to work on it non-stop...that is if my hands don't cramp up too bad.  I am sure I will work on it every night there before I go to sleep...especially since Clint is not going with me.  :(  I will really miss him while I am gone.  But, I get to see my dad and my inlaws so I am excited about that.  I'm sure I won't have too much time alone, so I won't be lonely.  They are all excited to get to see me too.  Anyways, I am going to try to get a picture of the blanket right now so everyone can see the fruit of my labor.  Only 15 weeks to go, so I better get back to the blanket.

24 weeks

Today Clint and I went to McKays. It is not Clint's favorite store, but he agreed to drop me off on his way to get his allergy shots. After he was done, he came back to get me and helped me carry some books and movies we got for the baby. Not much else is new today, but I wanted to add some pictures we took today. My belly is very round now...I guess at least it isn't square...LOL.

Dancing the Night Away

Last night Clint and I went to my cousin Lindsay's wedding. It was really pretty...of course. I had the "job" of standing by the guest book as people arrived. About 15 minutes into my hour long duty, the baby started kicking my bladder with everything she had. I didn't think I was going to be able to make it through the hour without taking a bathroom break, but lucky for me, she stopped kicking me after about 5 minutes. :) We had a really good time at the reception. It was the first time, at least that I can recall, since I have been pregnant that we got to dance the night away. It was so much fun. It started off kind of slow with a bunch of Frank Sinatra music...and NOONE dancing. During this time, they did play the song that Clint and I danced our first dance to as a married couple..."At Last" by Etta James. So, we got up and danced to that, but we had forgotten almost all of the steps we learned a little over a year and a half ago. It brought back good memories of our wedding day. Anyway, after the cake was cut, they started playing A LOT better music. I danced until my belly started hurting, and then Clint and I sat down to rest for a few songs. One slow song we danced to, I can't remember which one, was really memorable for me. Towards the end of the song, I put my back to Clint's stomach and he held my stomach...it really was a special feeling for me having him holding me and our baby until the end of the song. I told Clint we need to start crashing weddings so we can dance more often. We used to go to clubs and dance before I was pregnant, but now I find those places a little too smokey. I think Clint actually agreed and thought it would be fun...I doubt we actually have the guts to do it though. One last thing before I go....this morning when we woke up and were lying in bed, Clint said, "You have pretty eyes." I was like...you can't see them my eyes are closed. And, he said that he remembered what they looked like last night. It was pretty sweet...and a great start to my day!!!

23 weeks and counting...

Today Clint and I went to the doctor for our monthly appointment.  Everything looked good.  My blood pressure was 108/66, and I weighed 138.  If you start counting from where I was when I found out I was pregnant, that means I have gained 7 pounds.  I'm not going to start counting from the weight I got down to in October...that number does not sound nearly as good.  I am hoping to keep my weight to somewhere around 150 by the end of the pregnancy, but we'll see if I can stop eating so much junk constantly.  The doctor also said he did not see any stretch marks yet...I already knew that...I look for them everyday.  It was funny though because Clint said, "You don't get those until after the baby is born anyway."  That was pretty funny.  I guess men really don't know a lot about pregnancy.  I know he doesn't read all the stuff I do, so I can't really expect him to know things I've just learned myself (even though I already knew you get stretch marks at anytime...not just after the baby comes).  It is good that they don't know everything and even better that they don't try to pretend they do when it comes to pregnancy...at least he doesn't pretend he does.  I am so lucky to have him.  He has been very supportive of me so far and has not complained once about going to the doctor with me.  I guess he just knows I expect him to since he doesn't have anything else to do anyway.  We go back again on February 24 or 25 for my diabetes test. 

Okay, so enough about the doctor visit.  I wanted to tell everyone about the baby.  She has been moving so much.  On the way to the visit, I had to pee really bad and she was relentless in her kicking.  I kept asking her to stop because I had to pee, but she wasn't listening.  Then I told Clint he needed to give her a spanking and he was like, "She doesn't know any better."  So, I went with that a little bit and was like so if she gets markers and starts drawing on the walls, you are gonna be like, "She didn't know any better."  It was fun teasing him.  Anyways, back to the baby moving all the time.  Sunday night we were laying in bed watching Desparate Housewives (the best show in the world...along with 24).  I decided to pull up my shirt and watch and see if I could see the baby move...since I could definitely feel her moving and everyone has been asking me if I could see it yet.  So, I sat there a minute and then I saw it...my belly moved.  Today, she has been kicking a lot and so every now and then my belly moves too.  I talked to my friend Alicia today, and she said she can finally feel her baby move too.  She is about 3 weeks behind me.  I remember when I first felt her move.  It was just once or twice a day and now it is almost every hour.  It is amazing how fast she is growing and how fast my body is changing.  I must admit, I do like the way I have felt now that my pregnancy is visible.  At first, I was scared of what it would be like.  I thought I would feel "fat", but instead I just feel pregnant.  I must admit, lying in bed at night watching TV is not as comfortable as it was a month ago.  I can only imagine how uncomfortable it will be in another month.  Oh well, I guess I have rambled on enough for now.

Buying Baby Furniture

Well, this is my third attempt at writing this entry.  I have accidentally deleted it once and completely x'ed out of the Internet once.  So, here goes nothing.  Well, this football game has got me really stressed right now.  The Redskins need to hurry up and score a touch down...and a field goal.  I should probably turn it off now, but I'm not sure that would really help anything.  Anyways, Clint and I went to look at a dresser, changing table, and crib for the baby today.  It was in the paper yesterday for $200, so we wanted to go check it out.  Well, we ended up buying it.  It is a natural wood set, and I think it will be great for the baby's room....whenever we are able to set it up.  Right now our house is for sale, so we are hoping it will sell soon, but with our luck lately, we will be here forever.  (the baby is really moving right now)  So, we are not sure what we are going to do about the baby's room yet.  I guess we will just have to wait and see.  Yesterday we went to Target to get a highchair for my friend Selena.  I saw them on clearance last week and told her about them, so she asked me to get her one.  We ended up buying one for us too, so we have that out of the way as well.  Well, the Redskins just lost...it is not going to be a good night for us.  Later

You Asked For Pictures...

Okay, here are a few pictures that Clint and I took yesterday (I am 22 weeks). As you can see, my belly button is no longer an "innie". I don't think I really look that pregnant in the full body shot, so that is why I added the others. I will try to add pictures on a regular basis for all my friends and family that I don't get to see very often. Enjoy!!!

No Stretch Marks Yet...LOL

I am officially 22 weeks as of yesterday and no stretch marks yet...lol.  I have added another "preventative" to my daily treatments -- Vitamin E capsules.  I talked to a friend yesterday, Missy, who told me she cut the capsules open and rubbed the Vitamin E on her skin.  She didn't get any stretch marks, so I guess I will try her method too.  Now I'm up to Palmer's Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks, olive oil and Vitamin E...we'll see if they work...or maybe I'll just get lucky.  I'll take either one.  Just reading all this makes me see that I am a little vain...hmmm...I never really thought that about myself before.  Oh well.  Well, the baby is kicking the laptop...I don't think she likes it sitting on her.  I don't really like her sitting on my bladder all the time either, so I guess we are even...lol.  I wonder how many times I will pee tonight.  Maybe I'll try to keep track tonight that way I'll have an accurate estimate.  I'm guessing I go about 7 or 8 times every night.  It is NOT fun!!!  I guess that is part of it though.  I do enjoy feeling her move...there she goes again.  Well, I will let her have her way right now.  I'm going to read a book before I call it a night.

I'm Freaking Out...

Okay, so I went ahead and read next week's "My Pregnancy This Week" on BabyCenter.com (22 weeks...which I will be on Tuesday).  It really freaked me out.  It talked about those two dreaded words...STRETCH MARKS.  It says they can appear any time now since my stomach is really starting to grow.  So, now I am completely worried about them starting to appear.  It says that at least half of women get them...those are not good odds.  And, it says there is nothing you can do to prevent them...lotions won't prevent or eliminate them...so much for using my Palmer's Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks twice a day.  I'm not going to stop using it though...at least it will ease my mind a little even though after reading this I'm not even sure it will.  After I read this disturbing news, I told Clint to go get the olive oil and bring it to me.  My aunt told me she used it every morning and night and she only got one stretch mark...I guess she was in that lucky 50%.  Anyway, Clint wouldn't go get it for me, so I told him he better still love me if I get stretch marks.  Before I read this, I thought stretch marks wouldn't come until maybe the last month or so, but now I know they could be coming any day now.   At least I know my little girl will love me regardless of whether I get them or not...that is one comforting thought.

Looking at names again

On New Year's Day, we had some friends over to eat chili and watch football.  We started looking at my baby name books and tossing out some new names.  After doing that for a while and talking to Clint's mom, Anna, we found another name to add to our list - Catarina Rose.  This was Clint's grandmother's name (on his mom's side).  She did not spell her name the same way though...I think it might have been spelled Catherina.  But, I like this spelling better.  So now we have four names on the list:

1. Summer Jewel     2.  Caprice Summer or Summer Caprice     3. Catarina Rose     4. Summer Rose

I like the new name we added because the baby would be named after a family member.  I guess with Summer Rose, she would be too since Rose was her great grandmother's middle name.  We probably won't pick a name until we see her and see what she looks like.  At least that is my guess.  I would like to hear what everyone thinks about these names, so add a comment to my diary if you have time.  It is not hard and should only take a second.  Just click on "Add Your Own" below this entry.

Starting to Register

Clint and I went to start picking out things for our registry today (I am 21 weeks).  We have decided to register at two different places since some things are cheaper at Wal-Mart than Babies-R-Us.  When we got there, he was not feeling good, but we decided to start anyway.  It was VERY hard to know where to start since I have never done this before.  I don't have the first clue how to pick out a carseat, which was where I started so I just skipped over that.  I also don't know anything about breast pumps, so I skipped that too.  My friend Selena just had a baby, so I will ask her about these things.  I did end up picking out some things, but I didn't really get a lot done.  It is okay though because we have plenty of time to go back and finish before the baby gets here. I think we might have come up with a theme for the nursery.  We saw a cute Baby Looney Tunes bedding set, and Clint said he always liked them so I think that is what it is going to be.  We will see though...

Happy New Year!!!

Today has been a great start for the new year.  Clint's parents are here, and we had some friends over for chili and to watch football.  Clint commented to me that my stomach is getting big...BIG SURPRISE, huh?  Anyways, I definitely agree with him.  I bet I have gained several pounds since last week, but I guess I will see tomorrow morning when we go workout.  When we got in bed, the baby was kicking me and I know Clint felt it this time for sure.  It is so cool to feel her move.  I have been having a hard time getting comfortable in bed lately, and I hope it does not continue...at least on a regular basis.  I know as I grow, it will be harder to get comfortable...I just hope I can still get a few hours of good sleep a night.  Last night was my best night this past week.  Even though it was New Year's Eve, I went to be at about 9:00...I missed the ball drop...oh well...maybe next year.  I slept really good though, so I must have been tired.  I cooked a nice dinner for Clint and my in laws last night then we watched football until I finally had to call it a night.  Since we did not get to toast to the new year last night, we did this morning at breakfast...with sparkling white grape juice...not champagne.  It was good, and I am really excited about what this year will bring.