25 weeks! Little rutabaga!!

I'm 25 weeks today!! Yay!! We celebrated by taking a walk down by the hospital where they have a beautiful walking path with a grove of old douglas firs next to the Mackenzie river. We were also chased by a bee since I chose to wear my bright pink maternity shirt... not the best choice for early spring. :-)

Here is what is happening this week with our little one:
Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. His weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. He's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.


Baby Rutabaga


We've been asked many times recently what we are naming our kiddo... we've been up in the air about whether to tell people at this point. We're pretty sure on a name and have been trying it out around the house, but we don't want to say "this is his name" in case we change our minds or some other name comes up that we hadn't considered. Or if we see him and say "that's not his name!" we want to be able to change it without everyone getting confused. So sorry to all you out there waiting for the name... I promise it's a good one, but I'm not at liberty to discuss it further! :-)

This week I am going to work on the mural in the nursery (at least sketching it, the painting might wait). Not much else to do right now until the baby shower... I don't want to buy anything else just in case, and I don't have anything else baby-related to do until then. Maybe I'll focus on my gardening.

Weekly survey- Week 24

How far along: 24 weeks, 6 days

Cravings: Donuts, Yogurt, IHOP, and turkey sandwiches

Sleep: Having some weird dreams a lot of aches and pains that make it hard to fall asleep, but other than that, good sleep this week.

Best moment this week: Going for a walk in Hendricks Park with Eliot and seeing all the flowers blooming!

New symptoms: Early baby blues. I've felt down for a lot of this week, but it seems to be getting better as time goes on.

What I miss: Being able to put on shoes comfortably (I can't bend over from the waist anymore).

What I am looking forward to: The baby shower and going to the beach with Eliot in March for our anniversary.

Projects for this week: Tracing the tree for the wall mural, revamping Eliot's website (still working on both).

Silly pregnant moment of the week: Accusing Eliot of eating the lemon yogurt I was craving and KNEW was still in the fridge... until I thought about it for awhile and realized I had eaten it earlier in the week. Oops.

Milestones: We've reached the "viability" mark, so if the kiddo was born now there is a chance they could keep him alive. We'll all pray that he stays in there to bake a little longer though. :-)
Also, another milestone- Finally getting the cat toilet trained! Ok, well, that doesn't have to do with the baby, but it is a milestone none-the-less! We've been working on #2 for awhile and he's finally figured it out! :-D

Baby wearing!

I have done a lot of research into baby wearing (putting baby in a sling or wrap) and have decided it sounds like the way to go. If you start from an early age, it promotes bonding and actually encourages independence because the kiddo feels more secure with their relationship to the parent so they aren't afraid to venture out and explore when out of the wrap. :-)

I would still use the stroller we have for longer walks/outings, and for when the baby gets older (you CAN wear them from 0-3 years, but I'm not sure I could carry a 3-year-old for more than a few minutes!). There are two wrap styles I am considering, but this one is my favorite because baby is very secure and you can cook, clean, and do what you would normally do while holding the baby:




These ones are from Lovey Duds and have SUCH cute prints! If I get one I would have to get a print Eliot wouldn't mind wearing as well... though it is tempting to get a girly one blue/green one. :-)

The other kind of sling I am considering is an adjustable pouch. These are faster to put on, but they don't distribute the weight as evenly, so you can't wear it as long. It is also better for older kiddos who can hold their head up (so you can put them on your hip). Here is a pic of an adjustable pouch from hot slings:



There are a couple of other wraps I am considering, but these are my favorites so far. I looked into making them myself, but you have to get a very specific type of cloth for it that, after getting as many yards as I need, would be about the same cost as buying one made (at least for the first wrap). And I think I would want to buy one that I know is secure since it will probably get a lot of use.

I don't think I'll buy one till April or May and maybe do some more research, but the first wrap on this page looks promising (it is like the Moby Wrap but made with a softer material and made by a work-at-home mom).

Either way, I am glad we will have the choice between using a stroller and wearing the baby in a sling. That way we can go out and see the world no matter what! :-)

Mural musings

So I know we want to do a tree mural at least in one corner of the room complete with shelves... but I am thinking about what we want to do in the rest of the room. I am thinking about doing something like this around the door:



I have to admit I am freaking out and procrastinating painting/drawing the tree. I feel like it is so hard and it will look terrible if I draw it freehand on the wall, let alone paint it. I feel stuck, I can't even face picking out paint colors for it! I know I can trace it on a transparency and project it on the wall, but the picture of the tree I have is at an angle and I'm not even sure I could trace it well.

I need an artist!

Feeling down

I have felt a bit down in the last few days... like I am not contributing to the family and being lazy. Sometimes I'm just sad and I can't explain it. When I did try to do some housework and get stuff done today, I got really dizzy and nauseous and had to lay down for an hour till I felt better. *sigh*

I did make 3 more "small" size fleece soakers for the baby, but I had to stop after awhile because my back was killing me. I know I did a lot to day (scrubbed the whole kitchen, mopped the floors, did some sewing, etc), but I still can't shake the feeling that I am being unproductive. I've never really felt that way being at home before, so I think it is the pregnancy hormones.

I'm tired of feeling sad and not being able to figure out why. It's frustrating. :-(

Baby projects for February

Well, things are progressing in the "prepare for baby" part of our lives. Last weekend I went to my dad's house and helped him make custom-made shelves that are in the shape of branches for the tree mural we will be painting on the nursery wall. Here are a few pics from when we were priming the shelves:



We are going for this kind of look in the end, though probably in the corner and not the center of the wall:


We haven't figured out what we are going to do for the rest of the murals yet, but we'll be thinking about it in the next few weeks. This weekend, Eliot, Mom, and Jodi painted the nursery with a "green tea" paint and it looks great! I'll save the picture till the mural is done, but I am so grateful that the nursery is starting to look like a nursery instead of the guest room. I am also grateful for my painting crew! Thanks everyone!!

My other project this week has been to make some newborn fleece soaker covers to go over the prefold diapers and give us some options this summer for diaper covers. Here is what we came up with....
The first attempt with some extra fleece I had laying around:


And the other four I made after we went to pick out fabric!
Front:

Back:


I will probably spend part of this week making small sizes from the same fleece so we have the prints for awhile. They are pretty quick and easy. :-)

24 week bump pic!

Here is the progression of the bump so far!


4 weeks

8 weeks

12 weeks

16 weeks

20 weeks!

20 weeks!


24 weeks!!

24 weeks!!

24 weeks!!

24 weeks! Little ear of corn!!

Our baby is 24 weeks today!!

Here is what is happening with little baby Grasso this week:
Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.




We went on a hospital tour of Riverbend today, and it was GORGEOUS! They have such a nice facility, I am really looking forward to giving birth there. They answered all my questions and showed us both the labor rooms and mom/baby rooms (the baby stays in the room with you instead of going to the nursery, which I like!). All the windows have beautiful views of fir trees, the valley, or the river. It's quite lovely. :-)

I also started to get a little anxious standing in the labor room, thinking what the HECK did I get myself into?? When you start to think that the growing baby inside you has to come out of you somehow, it is a little harrowing. But I know I have so much support from family and friends, and God will be in control, not me (which is soooo comforting!!).

It is so gorgeous outside I think I may go plant some sugar snap peas in the garden (don't worry, I won't do too much work and I'll stop to rest as necessary). It is just too beautiful to be indoors. I observed the peonies, bleeding hearts, and clematis coming up today, and the blossoms are really blooming on our tree out front. What a beautiful time to be bringing a new life into the world, when everything is becoming new.

Weekly survey- Week 23

How far along: 23 weeks, 6 days

Cravings: Cheddar cheese hot dogs

Sleep: Doing better this week! I am actually getting to bed by 3 and waking up at 11:30, which is a definite improvement!

Best moment this week: Making my own fleece diaper covers... pics to come soon!

New symptoms: My balance is not very good these days. I run into everything by accident. Oh, and I drop pretty much everything I pick up. Just call me Kate the Klutz.

What I miss: Volunteering at RMDH! This week was my last day of volunteer work since it is getting too hard to go to rehearsal after volunteering. It was so sad to say goodbye to the ladies up there in Portland. At least I know where to find them once the little one is here! :-)

What I am looking forward to: Hospital tour tomorrow! Yay!

Projects for this week: Making fleece diaper covers (called "soakers" though they don't "soak" anything), painting the nursery

Silly pregnant moment of the week: Filling up a water glass, walking over to the table, and then seeing the other water glass I had filled up only moments before waiting for me.

Milestones: Gaining a ridiculous amount of weight in a month? Is that a milestone? :-)

Doctor's appointment today

I went to see my OB for this month... baby is healthy, moving around a lot and has a heartbeat of 150 bpm. I am measuring well except I gained 9lbs this month, which is about twice what I normally gain in a month (!). My doctor said it is normal to sometimes gain a lot of weight at once and then have it slow back down, but regardless I am watching my sweets and trying not to drink empty calories. I can't understand how I gained so much since I haven't been eating all that more, but I guess walking less has really taken it's toll...

I am also trying to exercise more, which is easier since it is SO nice outside! I opened the door today to all the crocuses in full bloom under a blue sky with the tree in front blossoming! The blueberries in back are also budding out... I love spring!!

Another problem with gaining weight is my wedding ring doesn't fit anymore... so Eliot and I went out today to Kohls and got a cheapie bigger ring for me to wear so my hand doesn't have to be ring-less for the next few months! I don't want to wear my ring around my neck because I'd be worried about losing it by the chain breaking. Here is a pic of one very close to the one I bought:



We also headed over to Joann's fabrics to pic out some fleece for the fleece diaper covers I am making for our little one. I am using a simple pattern and they should come out somewhat like this:


I plan on making a couple newborns and a couple small size ones for now... they have an extra soaker layer in them to retain moisture, and I heard if you wash them with your regular clothes, the fabric softener helps make them wick away wetness and keep it in the diaper (these covers go over a prefold diaper secured with a snappi). Hopefully I will do one or two tomorrow if I find the time!

We are also painting the nursery this weekend (by we I mean Mom, Eliot, and Jodi), so at least it will be green! The mural will come later, we're just getting the base color on this weekend. It will be so great to makes strides towards finishing the nursery!!

That's all for now, going to watch the men's skating on the olympics and go to bed. :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's day everyone! I woke up this morning to some lovely surprises on my table... Eliot bought me flowers, gouda, and chocolate covered raspberry sticks for Valentine's day, as well as a lovely card. I thought that was it, but then he gave me an envelope (he couldn't find the gift wrap) that had an R.C. Sproul lecture inside. Puzzled, I took it out cautiously (I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Sproul) and looked inside. This is what I found...

My dear, sweet husband remembered me telling him months ago how I wanted some waltzes on a playlist so I could dance with our baby. So he did some researched, collected piles of CDs, and made two custom-made compilation CDs of some great waltzes for me! I was so excited and, quite frankly, surprised he remembered that at all. Then I also saw he bought me a replacement CD for the Edith Piaf one that I loved and lost somewhere in the shuffle of moving multiple times (I always lamented losing it, but couldn't bring myself to shell out dough again for a CD I had already purchased once in my lifetime). Romantic music for a romantic holiday from my loving husband... I was so touched. :-)

We went out for dinner at the Olive Garden, arriving nice and early to get our name on the list so that we had a table by 6:30 (in the meantime we wandered around Toys R Us and Barnes and Noble). We were luckily seated in a relatively quiet area and had a leisurely dinner (since they were running behind in the kitchen, which was just fine with us).

I think the thing I love most this year about Valentine's day is that it was enough to just be together. We didn't need expensive food or a dozen roses or even a big vacation... we just cuddled on the couch and listened to some classic waltzes. Just the three of us. <3

23 weeks! Little Mango!

I am 23 weeks as of yesterday!! Apparently our little boy can dance with me now! How appropriate then that we went to the opera The Magic Flute on Friday... and every time the drums sounded (for lightening) he would kick me! I think he hears sounds a lot more than he did before. :-)

Here is what is happening this week:
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

I am also starting to think about childproofing the house... and my main concern right now is letting the cat have access to the bathroom (toiled trained) without risking our kiddo falling in the toilet or the tub we keep filled with an inch of water (to prevent the cat from having accidents, although he is doing REALLY well these days in that arena). My latest idea is to put a safety gate with a swing gate on the outside frame of the door so that people can use the bathroom and the cat can jump over it (I think he can) but the kiddo can't go in. If only these gates weren't $60... why is baby stuff so darn expensive??

At least it will be awhile before our little one is mobile so we can save for it! :-)

Finished quilts!

Here are the other two quilts, all done!

Happy spring!

The first crocus of the season!! Yay spring!!

Weekly Survey- Week 22

I am changing the survey a bit so that it addresses more current pregnancy experiences...

How far along: 22 weeks, 6 days

Cravings: Cream of wheat, turkey pastrami sandwiches (don't worry, I heat up the lunch meat first)

Sleep: Not sleeping well. Last night I had such bad heartburn I was up till 4am, then I had vivid nightmares. So I end up sleeping till 2pm and missing most of the day. Ugh.

Best moment this week: Buying my first diaper covers! Oh so cute!

New symptoms: HEARTBURN. They say the more heartburn you have, the more hair your baby will have on their head. We'll see... I'm also hot all the time. 61 degrees seems like the PERFECT temperature these days.

What I miss: Laying flat on my back! I miss it!! If I lay on my back, though, it crushes a major artery and causes less blood flow to the baby and my legs. One of the first things I am going to do after birth is LAY ON MY BACK for a LONG time. :-D

What I am looking forward to: Hospital tour and painting on the 20th! And making tree-branch shelves with my dad this Saturday.

Projects for this week: Hanging clothes line in laundry area (for cloth diaper covers), washing and organizing baby boy clothes, finishing baby quilts

Silly pregnant moment of the week: Walking from the glider in the living room to the hall and forgetting why I was going there in the first place. Later I remembered it was to adjust the thermostat. :-)

Milestones: Feeling our little one kick almost once an hour, and Eliot could feel it too this week!

Finished duckie quilt!

I finally got the duck applique on one of the quilts... I chose to turn it sideways to match the pattern of the ducks and frogs.



I will probably go to Joann's tomorrow to figure out what to put on the other two.

Baby legs and diaper covers

We are budgeting some money every month for diaper supplies so we don't have to buy all of it at once...so today I went in to Fletchers to get some diaper covers. I decided to get two newborn ones and a size small, though I will still need 4 more newborn and 4 more smalls, most likely. But you gotta start somewhere. I would have gotten 3 newborn, but the small one that I found looked like this and was so cute:


Here are the newborn ones, which are the "super brite" variety and have an extra leg gusset that helps prevent leaks. The color choices were somewhat limited for these ones:


Eliot and I had a cloth diapering lesson using a stuffed bunny now that we have some prefolds (old ones from Lindy and Nathan), some snappis (which are easier to use than diaper pins), and the covers. The supply is scarce, but it is a start. Eliot did GREAT with both the prefolds and covers and with a Bum Genius 3.0 One Size. The goal is to have prefolds and covers during the expensive "newborn diapering period" where they can go through 12-16 diapers a day and don't quite fit yet into the one size diapers. Then we should be able to switch over most of the time to Bum Genius One Size diapers that are are easy and fast to use, pretty much like disposables.

Anyway, I think it is going to work... once we have some more diapers! :-)

I also decided to work on some small projects for the baby. Since I have a TON of clothes already thanks to the twins, I decided to try to make some Baby Legs (baby leg warmers), which are nice with cloth diapers in the summer since they can keep baby's legs warm and still show off the cute diaper! Too many layers over cloth are bulky anyway, so baby legs are a nice alternative. Here was my first attempt... not perfect, but a start...

Cravings

I promised Eliot I would record what I am craving somewhere, so I figured when I crave something new I would post it here. This is what I am craving in week 22:

Cream of Wheat (came full circle, this is what I wanted when I was only a few weeks along!)
Salad with blue cheese dressing
Cheese and Granny Smith apples
More sweet things than I used to (cookies, chocolate), but I am trying to not eat too much sugar.

Of course, I also crave whatever happens to be on commercials on TV, so I try to leave the room when they come on. Some recent ones have been KFC, Olive Garden pasta, and Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. Darn you, advertisements.

New registries!

I decided that it would make sense to have the same registries on the blog here as are for the baby shower, so I updated the links on the right (scroll down) to make it easier for everyone. I also made a registry at Kellyscloset.com for cloth diapers.

The cloth diaper one looks a little daunting as the quantities of diapers I would like are grouped together and the total cost added up (yikes!). Of course anyone can just buy a single diaper or item, and to see the color and size I am requesting for some of them just hit the "view/hide options" button on the individual item. We are hoping for prefolds and covers for our newborn and One Size diapers for the rest of the diapering period. The up-front cost seems a bit steep, but in the end we will save thousands over disposables (and two WHOLE trees!).

I also have to mention that I put the Goodmama ones on there for fun even though they expensive... because they are so DARN CUTE!! I want to add THE THING and THE HOT ONE but they are out of stock so it won't let me. Why not have adorable diapers if they are adjustable and will be able to be used till potty-training (and beyond to future kids)?

Here is The HOT one:


And The THING:


This one is on the registry, it's called The WESTERN One:


The best part about Goodmamas is that they are All-in-ones as well as Ones Size, so they grow with baby AND are all one piece like disposable diapers (easy for us and anyone who babysits!). Can you tell I am excited about cloth diapers??

22 weeks! Spaghetti squash!!

I am 22 weeks today! I am feeling pretty tired so I am going to try to work on some crafts this weekend and easy stuff around the house. I am going to attempt to make a few pairs of baby legs since they are so expensive to buy and so cheap to make.

Here is what is going on with our little boy this week:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.


Also, spring is springing here! The trees down by the river have blossoms appearing already (first week of February!) and all my spring flowers are coming up. Love it. Here is a pic of the tree blooming that I took with my cell phone:

I love my husband!

So tonight my dear sweet husband did all the following (after a full day of work and school):

• Helped make dinner
• Took me to Walmart to get catfood since it is too heavy to lift
• Unloaded the shopping from the car
• Did the dishes
• Cleaned the kitchen
• Cleaned up the cat's toilet
• Emptied out the water in our broken washing machine so the new one can be delivered tomorrow
• Took out the trash
• Took out the recycling

Can you believe it? All without asking! I actually cried tears of joy since I was so exhausted I just couldn't do anything past making dinner. I have the best hubby ever! :-)