Nursery Updates Part II

So let me start off by saying how much of an amazing job ROB did on the nursery. Yes, he gets 90% of the credit for how cute everything turned out! From working on the heating issue in her room, to painting the walls pink & white, adding chair rail, hanging the curtain rod/curtains, assembling allllll of her furniture (crib, changing table and dresser)... my wonderful hubby did it ALL. He told me I could help with the bedding and put her clothes away, but he was absolutely content with doing everything else.

I came home from work on Monday to a finished nursery! Rob had the day off from work and spent the whole day busting butt to have everything completed before my return. Don't worry, I rewarded him with dinner from any take out place of his choice. So after a delicious spread of chinese food and a few short relaxing minutes on the couch after a long day of work, he goes, "Ok ready to help me finish?"

I have never seen a guy so excited to put on lady bug sheets and a comforter set. He actually kind of took over and wanted to put everything on himself. So I let him do his thing and instead took on the fun task of hanging clothes in her closet (look how many outfits she has already!) That doesn't even count alllllll of her outfits already in the dresser drawers as well. Between my shopping binges and gifts from family and friends- she is going to be well dressed (at least until age 1) :-)

The girls were absolutely hilarious during this process. We haven't really utilized her room, knowing it would be converted to a nursery, so they were a bit hyper to explore this unknown/new territory. We kept yelling at them (I felt bad) to leave her room because I don't want them getting into the habit of climbing into the crib (have you ever met Lexi...?) or even worse chewing on any her clothes/stuffed animals/toys (again have you met Lexi....?) So for now, her room is off limits to the pups. They got bored pretty quick after they realized Mom and Dad were preoccupied and took an early snooze in their beds. I think they may sense "change is in the air..."

A big thank you to the future Aunt Kelly who bought her the adorable lady bug lamp on her dresser, Mamma Summers who purchased her comforter set and Mamma Schab who bought us a glider/ottoman set and will be delivering it to us at a later date. We are so incredibly blessed to have such amazing family and friends who are so excited for her arrival.

Wedding Weekend in Maryland

Over the weekend, Rob was a groomsman (for the very first time) for his good college friend Steve. The wedding took place in Frederick, MD and everything was absolutely beautiful! We had a great time and I even managed to stay up on the dance floor 80% of the time. At one point, Rob and I were dancing and I started to "drop it like its hot" and then had to ask Rob for some assistance to help me back up....LOL Overall, it was an amazing wedding and we had a great weekend with our college friends! Congrats Steve and Amy!

26-28 weeks

28 weeks...photo appears to be a bit blurry, but you can still make out that I'm getting big!

Wow! Time is just whipping by and I will be 28 weeks/Third Trimester in just a few days. I can't believe how QUICK this pregnancy is going. I will have to upload some belly shots, but here are some updates....

Potty Breaks x 100

I feel all I do now is use the bathroom-an average night I will get up almost every two hours. I have also started this disturbing habit of grunting/moaning when I get up. It's truly something I can't help- it's the feeling of, "help me I can't get up" and forcing my large body to get out of bed. Poor Rob wakes up every time and now my frequent trips to the bathroom have rubbed off on him- he now gets up every so often to use the bathroom now, too.

Hormones, Hormones, Hormones

Up until two weeks ago, I have to say, I've been a pretty calm and laid back pregnant lady. I felt so relaxed and didn't ever get in bad moods. Well, something happened these past two weeks and I became a bit....lets just say CRAZY. One minute I would rant/yell to Rob on the phone for X Y and Z (I would just find anything to get upset about) and then always end it with, "....and she's going to be here in three months and NOTHING is ready!" Exaggerating much, yes, I would say so. I know we have plenty of time to accomplish everything we need to do and we have already gotten a great start on a lot of it. The next minute he would walk into the room, notice I looked a little sad and asked if everything was ok? I would enter into these cryfests where I would literally cry for about 1-2 hours straight. Why you may ask...I have no clue? Honestly, there wasn't one thing making me sad- but I would just have a good cry and let it all out. Rob was AMAZING as usual and would rub my back, comfort me and assure me I didn't look like a cow (which I would complain I looked like since I felt big and have been leaking milk already).

I think the combination of stress at work, not having her nursery complete and just hormones in general got the best of me. Over the last two weeks, I have traveled to Philadelphia, NYC, Baltimore and DC for work. Living out of a suitcase for the past two weeks and not being at home got the best of me. I think I became a bit burnt out and needed to let it alllllll out.

Food

Still no crazy food craving to report and I eat pretty normal. I did have one tiny craving- but I can't really blame it on the baby. This past weekend, Rob and I were at a wedding in Maryland for our good friends Steve and Amy and there happened to be a Taco Bell right next door to our hotel. After the wedding, I made an executive decision to pick up some tacos and nachos before heading to bed. The funny thing is, I just had a few bites and I was satisfied- I didn't even really touch more than half the food- but I just really wanted at least one taco that night! Baby Schab loooovveed it and kept me up all night dancing around in my belly!

I'm soooo tiiiirrrreeeddd!

The bursts of energy I once had in the second trimester are slowly fading. I thought it was because of all of my work schedule, but I'm slowly realizing my body can't stay up as late as it once could a few weeks ago. Instead of being able to stay up until 10 or 11PM at night- I now feel ready for bed closer to 8 or 9. Last night was an all time record...6:30pm! Yep, I was dragging. I thought maybe I'll take a light snooze- nope- I was out until 7AM the next morning. Lexi was my little snuggle bunny and curled up in bed with me during that whole time. She just absolutely never wants to leave my side and is very persistent about sleeping next to me. I'll wake up in the middle of the night and her head is right next to me on my pillow. Rob isn't so fond of her in the bed- but I'm the softy and will let it happen....

Bust a move!

Baby is very active right now! I can feel her moving at all hours of the day. She dances in my tummy every morning, after meals and definitely at night. I really wish Rob could feel her- but he has not been able to so far. I keep crossing my fingers he will be able to experience her moving/kicking real soon. A bit frustrating for both of us and I know he feels left out :-(

Doggie Boot camp

So of course, I can't forget about my other children! Real recently, Rob and I made the decision to have an electric fence installed in our back yard. Yes, we do have a fenced in yard already...but that hasn't stopped our little escape artist from getting out. Ever since we moved into our current house, our little Lexi would find any way to escape the yard. At first, she would squeeze her little body under the fence and run out. So Rob tried solving that problem with some chicken wire and boards. So she showed him who was boss and started hopping our fence. Yes, her 10lb body could jump over our 5 foot fence. Well, her escaping started getting a little riskier lately. Not only would she find a way out, she started crossing the street. We don't live on a busy road, but rather in a nice suburban development, BUT, occasionally, cars will whip up and down our street. I started getting this awful feeling that something bad would happen and wanted to get her bad habit under control. So we signed a contract with Invisible Fencing who promised me that they have worked with many escape artists before and would give us a money back guarantee if she got out...SOLD. So they came out and installed the fence and provided her first training session. I would say she did 'ok' with her first training session. They will come back next weekend to turn on the 'shocker,' but for now, she is able to hear beeps when she gets too close to the fence. So we have to practice visual training (identify the flags) and associate the beeps with getting too close to the flags/fence. With all of the snow we have gotten recently, she was much more concerned with getting her paws wet then listening to her instructor. She is also quite the mommy's girl and wouldn't listen unless I was next to her. Rob and I are crossing our fingers this solves the problem. Now if we could just get her to stop going through our trash and sleeping in our bed at night....

Stay tuned for more Baby Schab updates...

a. Baby classes will start 2/09

b. We are hoping to finish the nursery in the next few weeks.

c. I can assure you I will be getting bigger and will continue to share the good, the bad and the ugly with you about being pregnant.

d. 13 weeks to go before our princess arrives!!!

Baby Practice 101

The weekend after New Years, Rob and I drove down to visit our good couple friends Jaclyn and Mike. They just recently had a baby in November and we were so excited to meet Baby Collin and our future son-n-law (yes we have already planned an arranged marriage). Collin was absolutely too cute for words. What a GOOD baby! He hardly cried and was so darn adorable and happy. However, he did teach us a few lessons and gave us a nice preview of what we can look 'forward' to in a few months...

A few minutes after we arrived, Jaclyn goes, "Uh oh, I think someone has a poopy diaper." Rob turns to me and goes, "I would take of your jacket, follow Jaclyn and take some notes." I know he meant it in the most loving way. Trust me when I say this, Rob will definitely be not the type to push all diaper changes on me. I know he will be very, very hands on. The reason he was giving me the nudge to "observe" was (please don't judge me), I have only changed a handful of diapers in my lifetime. All of the children I babysat for were potty trained and I didn't have any young cousins/relatives that I could learn from. Sooooo unlike my expert husband who is a pro at changing diapers, I have A LOT to learn. Well, Collin's diaper proved to be a good test. It was considered a "blow out." Poor Jaclyn had poop on her outfit and had to change. So picture this, all four of us in his room as we watched her change the diaper. I got sight of the 'evidence' and I started dry heaving! So embarrassing...I had to leave the room! Thank goodness, Rob and I have registered for baby classes (which will start in February) and they did ask us to bring a stuffed animal and diaper to practice.

Later that night, Rob was holding Collin (again, talk about a pro at work)- he is such a natural. Rob was rocking him, giving him kisses, making him laugh- so cute to watch! Well, as I was admiring his natural ability, I spotted something on Rob's fleece. I started shrieking, "Oh my god, oh my god, don't move. It's ok, everything will be ok." Yes, I was freaking out because Collin spit up on Rob. Rob didn't even flinch or care and I ran upstairs to get a paper towel to clean him up.

Besides the blow out and the spit up, seeing Jaclyn and Mike with Collin made me so excited for her arrival. Yes, I understand I will have my fair share of diaper changes and will probably have to change my outfits a few times a day, but I am still so excited to see what the future will bring. Thank god for this blog, because this time next year, I am sure I will look back at chuckle at my lack of knowledge in this area and how far I have come.

24/25 Weeks...Baby Schab Update

Time is just flying by and I have reached 25 weeks! Reality is definitely starting to set in that she will be here in 3 1/2 months. Rob and I are both so incredibly excited and we've kicked Baby Schab preparation into high gear. Enjoy some updates below!

Baby Schab Nursery

Rob has been the little worker bee over the past couple of days starting work on her nursery. The expression, "one step forward, two steps back" has definitely applied to her room. After spending more and more time prepping the room, he noticed air leakage. Her room is measuring in the 50's and in certain places even less than that. Soooo before he can finish painting, he has to rip up carpet and even make a few holes in the wall (eeeek) to add extra installation. The top part of the walls have been painted pink and the bottom half (chair molding and white paint) will be completed once the heating mystery is solved. We set a goal of the end of January to have her nursery all painted and furniture assembled. I am excited for more progress to be made.

My...look how much you have grown!

Numbers are in. I have officially gained...... 15 lbs! At my last weigh in, I asked the nurse to put a little * next to my weight to let everyone know that I'm weighing in after two big holiday weekends. She just laughed and told me to get on the scale (I at least tried). I have also become the cliche "new years working out person." I have really, really been terrible with the gym ever since I got pregnant. I use to be very dedicated, but unfortunately I have slacked big time. However, I'm setting small goals for myself and would like to walk 3-4x/week for at least 30 minutes. I made it to the gym 2x so far...so hopefully my "new years goal" of working out each week will come true.

Countdown is On!

You know you are somewhat getting close to baby time based off of the paperwork you receive at your monthly appointments. I had my December appointment today (1-03-11) - yes I was two weeks late. Baby Brain was the result of my first missed appointment two weeks ago and the NY Blizzard was the result of my missed re-scheduled appointment. I was absolutely shocked when she asked me to start filling out paperwork that they would send to the hospital in anticipation of my arrival. I was also shocked to learn that after my next appointment, they wanted to start seeing me every two weeks instead of monthly. I am beyond pumped and actually quite calm. I really thought I would be a nervous wreck leading up to giving birth, but for some reason, I'm taking everything in positive stride. Maybe watching shows like 16 & pregnant and Teen Mom (don't judge...) have made me more relaxed. If they can do it... so can I.

Food Cravings

Scroll back to my posts from August-October. Every other sentence was, "I hate this, I hate that, can't bear to look at this food or even eat this food" HA- have times changed! In the first trimester, nothing appealed to me and it was very, very difficult eating meals. NOW, everything is appealing! I was driving to Gettysburg to visit my parents and every restaurant/food chain I passed I was like "ooooo that sounds good for dinner." I also attacked their M&M bowl for dessert. I don't think I've eaten so many M&M's in one sitting in my life. They just tasted so yummy and I just kept inhaling them. So much for Baby not enjoying sweets anymore- now she loves them!

Stay Tuned...

In the next couple of weeks check back for updates on her room and more fun things we get to encounter. Baby Schab is going to be very loved and spoiled and we are just sooo excited to meet her!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011!

What an amazing 2010! Going into this year, I really made an effort to try new things and enjoy every minute of what life had to offer. In the back of my head, I had this inkling we were going to get pregnant this summer- so I tried hard to soak up all precious moments with Rob, friends, family, Porscha & Lexi and have a little bit more "fun in life" rather than be so serious all of the time. Don't get me wrong, I know this is a very happy and positive time for us, but it will certainly be different for us in the future. Rob and I won't have our alone time and we won't be able to see our friends as much- so I really wanted to make sure we lived life to the fullest! We are so excited for 2011 and meeting our newest family member in April.

New Years Eve was great this year! Rob and I got together with our couple friends, Natonia and Adam, for dinner at the most delicious Italian restaurant! We had an amazing time and went back to their place for dessert and to watch the ball drop. I definitely took a tiny snooze on their couch around 11PM, but luckily woke up before midnight. Staying up late is quite hard to do while pregnant!

Not long after midnight, we traveled back home and were greeted by two very excited pups. We were crossing our fingers that they wouldn't hear any fireworks on New Years while they were home alone. Well...judging by the gate being knocked over on the staircase and the carpet chewed upstairs, we are guessing they did hear the fireworks and got spooked.

The next morning/day, Rob and I had a full out LAZY day. I'm talking, sleeping in until 9AM, cooking cinnamon rolls for breakfast, watching two back to back movies, "we/I" literally did nothing. By early afternoon, Rob actually got motivated and started on the nursery, while I continued my lazy afternoon. My sister who was in the area stopped by and I convinced her to join us for dinner (Papa John's) and to watch TV with me. On Sunday, it was back to reality and I was whipping out my things to do list as normal. At least we had fun while it lasted!

Merry Christmas!

Rob and I had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! It was so nice being able to spend the holidays with both families! Rob and I hosted my family at our house on Christmas Eve. As we opened gifts, we noticed a new theme...most of our gifts were for Baby Schab! LOL We are officially old news and absolutely love how spoiled she is getting already!

On Christmas Day, we made the loonnngg drive to Long Island for Christmas Day with his family. We had a wonderful day and actually stayed a bit longer than expected. Blizzard 2010 made its way to Long Island and we were actually snowed in until Tuesday. Never a problem- his Mom and Dad were amazing and certainly kept our tummies stuffed and we watched many movies together as a family.

Rob and I are so blessed to have such incredible families and we had so much fun being able to spend time with each side for the holidays. We are looking forward to next year with both families and starting new holiday traditions with Baby Schab.