The deal of the century...

Brandon, Ellen and I were at the Castle Rock Outlets yesterday. There is a Restoration Hardware clearance center there that is going out of business. We walked in not expecting to find anything, but to our surprise, we find a light figure that was originally around $400 to be on sale for $140. We check it out and it is in perfect shape. I then proceed to Restoration Hardware at another mall to find that the shades are 1/2 off each. I will post pictures of the light fixture soon-it is so pretty, we put it over our dining area. Here is a picture I found of it online. The only difference is that ours has silvery shades on it that I got yesterday. I love it!

What to Expect in Week 28

Are you guys sick of hearing about the baby yet? LOL. Nothing much new. Baby is bouncing around like a crazy bean most of the time. Luckily the baby does stop bouncing sometimes at night. :) We are entering the third trimester. Wow-can you believe it? Here is an update on what the baby will be doing this coming week:

By this week, the baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through the womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

(Just because we use her/ she DOES NOT mean we know what we are having...but I got sick of using his/ he just in case our baby is a little girl)

Updates

As I get near the end of Week 27, we have accomplished a lot this week on the baby front:

We are all set with all of our childbirth and childcare classes, and we will register for the hospital next saturday. We also got our "coming home from the hospital" outfits today. Thanks Mom for the adorable matching bibs and socks! Love them SO much! Check out the little girl outfit (if it is a girl):

We officially changed medical providers and are now going with a midwife at St. Joseph's. :) We can't wait to start this new care--the midwife we are working with is amazing!

We also got our stroller! We got the bumbleride Indie in Lava. :) Thanks Ellie-Bubbie, Grandpa Dominick, Katy, Nick, Dominique & Edith for the wonderful gift! We love it.

Thank you Adrienne and Matt for the awesome swaddle blankets-I have heard amazing things about those blankets and was so excited when we got them yesterday! Thanks!!!

Week 27 :)

Moving right along into week 27. Not a whole lot of updates. We are getting ready for baby and spent the weekend organizing and planning. We continue to buy necessary baby stuff including diapers, wipes, onesies (to make sure we have some in Newborn size), and all that good stuff. We packed up the diaper bag with necessary baby stuff and also made some more decisions regarding baby products. We still have a lot of things to do, we have to: Register at the hospital, change providers (we really liked the midwives), pack the hospital bag (I know we have plenty of time to do this--but we are planners!), set up the bassinet, etc.

Brandon's mom comes to visit us this week (Wednesday night) and we are very excited to see her! We are looking forward to a fun weekend.

On another note, we watched the movie Paranormal Activity this weekend. Wow. Definitely one of the scariest I have ever seen!

On the baby front, here is what our baby is doing this week (the last week in the second trimester):

This week, the baby weighs about 2 lbs or more and is about 14.5 inches long with legs extended. She is sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes and sucking her fingers. The baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning (with a lot of medical help) if baby were born now.

Baby Albano's Bathroom

Nursery Decor

Almost 26 weeks

The long awaited belly photo :)

Pregnancy Survey

How far along? Just hit 25 weeks, moving into my 26th week.
How big is Baby? 1 3/4 lbs. (knowing our baby-probably about 2 lbs and ahead of schedule)
Total weight gain/ loss? About 8 lbs gained.
Maternity clothes? Yes, a necessity obviously.
Stretch marks? No, thank goodness.
Sleep? I require about 10 hours per night. I get tired and am in bed by 10 pm.
Best Moment this Week? Finding the stroller on sale, oh and buying more newborn diapers-man are those things cute, I could look at them all day. Oh and a normal gestational diabetes test-thank goodness.
Movement? Yes, all the time. The baby is a mover and a shaker.
Cravings? I love pretty much everything again, most food aversions are gone. I have been eating a lot of fruit.
Gender? Anyone's guess. It is still in a drawer in an envelope in our home and no we have not looked. :) I am so anxious to know!
Belly button in/ or out? In still. Thank goodness. Although it is getting more invisible by the day.
What I am looking forward to? Maternity leave with our beautiful baby!

Week 26!

Moving on into week 26, thought I would update everyone. The baby is still moving a lot. I have gained about 8 lbs so far with the pregnancy and am steadily gaining about 1/2 lb per week. I feel great! My energy levels are strong (as long as I am in bed by 10 pm I usually wake up before 8 am even on weekends) and we have been able to get a lot done at home. We have been buying diapers everytime we go to the store, in hopes that we will be stocked up by the time the baby arrives. We meet with the midwives tomorrow-I really hope we hit it off with them and feel comfortable moving forward with changing our provider.

We also found our stroller on sale, so will probably proceed with purchasing that this week. It is the Bumbleride Indie. I love the green one, but we may go with black because it will get less dirty. What do you guys think? http://smartmomma.com/Bumbleride-Indie-Stroller-Seagrass-2009-p-17908.html Green or black? That is the big issue now.

This stroller came after A LOT of research by my very thorough and very excited to be a dad husband. It is pretty lightweight and functions from birth of baby up. It coordinates with our chicco carseat we registered for. It is an easy fold and works in the grocery store and on a jog at the park. We wanted a multi-functional stroller.

On the baby front, here is what our baby is doing (besides kicking mommy):

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches from head to heel.

Baby movement

Our baby is quite the mover and shaker. I have been feeling so much kicking and flipping lately, so much so that Brandon was able to watch the baby moving around on the OUTSIDE of my belly last night. :) So cute because he was so excited! At one point, he put his hand on my belly and got a huge kick in return. He was thrilled! Vinny also likes to kiss the belly. On another note, Vinny has developed a pretty extreme case of anxiety and wants to be near me at every turn. He has been sleeping literally right next to me and refuses to move. Makes for an interesting night of sleep.

New Entertainment Center

I have never been a huge proponent of putting a TV on a wall. I am usually a "keep the TV hidden" kind of girl. However, we are trying to make our little house seem bigger and our giant entertainment center was starting to annoy me. So, we hung the TV on the wall and got a cute white cabinet to go underneath. In this picture the TV is tilted, but it can go completely flat against the wall. It does make our room seem much bigger. One of a few projects we have been working on. Take a look!

Week 25!

Moving onto week 25...the baby has been moving A LOT lately. I have my glucose screening test on tuesday-NOT looking forward to that. I am getting more and more anxious to know if we are having a girl or a boy. :) Would love to hear everyone's thoughts! We are meeting with midwives at St. Joseph's hospital in about a week to see if we want to change from my current dr. to a midwife instead. I will let you guys know how that goes. Meanwhile, I have cleared my trial schedule at work until March, so will use January to try to get everything done. (We have 4 trials in March, 5 in April-one even starting April 26). We will see how long I am able to hang in there for these trials. :)

On another note, Brandon and I have been working on some house projects that we won't be able to do once baby is here. We are trying to get everything organized and in perfect shape. I will post some pictures of the house projects in the coming weeks.

Here is what the baby is doing this week:

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than a rutabaga--but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Unbelievable

Rough game, not what any of us expected. The good news is my longhorns fought to the bitter end with a back-up quarterback. What more can you ask for? The littlest longhorn in our family kicked through the whole game, maybe he/ she already loves longhorn football like mom and dad.

Other adorable baby gifts

Thank you Ellie Bubbie and Grandpa Dominick.

Exciting Development

CUTE BABY ITEMS from Ellie-Bubbie and Grandpa Dominick that we got this week. A cute "A" and adorable tennis shoes, we also got the cutest monkey toys from restoration hardware baby.

This week was the first time Brandon was able to feel the baby move :) You could even see movement on the outside of my belly at one point last night. It was very exciting for him. The baby is moving like a crazy baby lately-mostly at night when I am trying to sleep :) I love it though. This baby can keep me up as long as it assures me he/she is healthy and strong!

Week 24! Update :)

Can you believe it? I can't believe I only have a few more weeks in my second trimester! Things are going great. I will get some belly pictures up here today. The belly is pretty large :) I hear that at this point, most women gain about an inch a week! They say the baby is putting on weight rapidly too. I am feeling pretty good (although still have the remnants of a cold I haven't shaken completely). Let's hope that goes away soon. The nausea is mostly gone and only returns for a minute here or there. My energy levels are pretty good and I have been able to get a lot of "baby" stuff completed. We have the room mostly organized and just need wall decor, a white magazine rack for children's books for the wall, and a small chair-side table. We have been buying diapers by the box to get ready for the little one. Our baby's bathroom is almost done too and I will post pictures by the end of the week. Thanks Nick and Katy for the beautiful Restoration Hardware Baby shower curtain! We love it! The linen closet has two new baby towel, supply and baby blanket shelves and the baby's bathroom cupboard is empty and awaiting necessary baby supplies. :) We even have a bib drawer in the kitchen and a sippy cup and bottle shelf :)

We are so excited for 2010 as we get ready to meet our baby! Hope everyone is well! On the baby front, here is an update:

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, 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.