4/22/11

19 Weeks

 I am a little late with my update, because of all the exciting things to post about this week, I am just now getting to my 19 week post.  I was 19 weeks on Monday, and I did not think this week would ever get here. 

Total Weight Gain: I still have not bought that scale.....

Sleep: I have not had any problems sleeping this week, but I have been waking up on my back a lot.



Food/Eating: I have had a pretty normal week as far as my eating this week.  I finally found some watermelon (I'mnot going to go into my complaints about it being almost $7), and I have been loving it this week.  I have been SO thirsty lately, but I guess that's a good thing?

 Movement: I have been feeling him move a lot more this week, and after seeing him on Monday I know he is definitely moving around in there.


Gender: Bring on the blue!



What I miss: I really do not feel like I am missing anything from my pre prego days this week.



Questions for other moms/moms to be: I have found that cute boy clothes are pretty hard to find, so if you know of any places/websites where i can find him cute clothes I would love the suggestions.


What I am looking forward to: being able to start thinking about what I want to do for a nursery now that I know what we are having.



Best moment of the week: Being able to see my sweet baby, and to hear that all of his organs looked great!

Sorry but no picture this week.  I will have plenty next week with it being Easter weekend.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter, and Happy Good Friday!

4/20/11

We have a name!

I had the feeling that I was having a boy from the very beginning, so boy names were all I could really think about.  We did not even discuss girl names until last week, because I wanted to be able to start calling him/her by name as soon as we found out what we were having.  We were set on two boy names pretty early on and knew what the middle name would be no matter which name we chose.  After thinking about it for a while, and talking to friends and family members the decision was pretty easy.  I have loved the name for such a long time, and I wanted it the whole time, but I wanted Luke to feel like he had a choice in it, and luckily he liked the same name that I did.  So the name of our little bambino is.....

Hudson Dale Graves


I am so in love with his name, and cannot wait to start going crazy buying all kinds of monogrammed goodies.  I think it is important for a boy to have a really strong name, and that is one of the reasons we chose Hudson.  The name is one that I have loved for a long time, and Dale of course is my maiden name.  I really wanted to carry on the Dale name because my parents had two girls so I know it makes them happy to know that the name will live on through Hudson.  All of my life (starting with my gym teacher in elementary school) people have called me Amber Dale, as a matter of fact most people thought that was my first and middle name.  One of my best guy friends told me that it was just until recently that he realized Dale was my last name. Even though I am married the majority of my friends continue to call me Amber Dale, so it makes me happy to know that he will have another little piece of me in him.  I hope everyone is having a great week!

4/19/11

IT"S A.......


BOY!!!!

It feels so good to finally know what we are having and not have to call him mystery baby anymore!  Obviously we had our big ultrasound yesterday, and I was a nervous mama.  Everyone was anticipating finding out the gender of the baby, and I just wanted to make sure everything was OK with the baby.  I am so happy to report that everything looked great!  My doctor did not do the ultrasound, she sends her patients downtown to Baptist Hospital to the Tennessee Maternal Fetal Medicine clinic to get our ultrasounds, because they specialize in high risk pregnancies.  I did not have a high risk pregnancy, but she said she likes to send her patients there, because they are the best, they look for birth defects for a living, and do it all day long, which made me so thankful that I have such a great Doctor that wants what is best for her patients.  As happy as I was that a expert would be doing my ultrasound I will say my tech should be taught a few bedside manners.  Let me paint you a picture.....I am a first time mom that is a nervous wreck, I lay down on the bed, she puts the little microphone looking thing on my belly, the baby pops up on the screen, and she says "oh we have a problem".  My heart sank, my immediate thought was "there is not a heartbeat".  After a grueling minute she said "you are only 19 weeks" then goes on and on about how she wont be able to see what she needs, and I will more than likely have to come back, and the baby was face down so she was almost positive she wouldn't be able to tell the gender.  After that she began telling us how that morning every person that came in had multiple birth defect, not something you tell a mother as she is getting her ultrasound.  Needless to say she did not set a very good tone for the rest of the visit.  I will say I was very proud of my little man, because he cooperated so well, and she was able to see everything she needed to see!  It made me very happy to prove negative Nancy wrong.  I was so happy once she looked at all the major organs and said everything looked great, that her sour attitude could not have ruined the experience for me.  Of course she waited until very last to look for the gender, as soon as she started to look it was like he backed his butt right up to the screen, and she said "oh its a boy".  Luke and his mom both jumped up and did a silent scream...she had made us so nervous to make a sound that we felt like we could not even celebrate.  I really did not have a preference either way, but Luke really wanted a boy so he was beside himself.  I am not sure if I have mentioned this, but there has not been a boy born in our family in 49 years!  My cousin who is 4 weeks ahead of me is having a boy too, so my family could not be more excited to have some male influence in the family.  My dad is so excited, because this will be his first grandson, and he cannot wait to spoil him rotten with all kinds of boy toys that will probably make me a nervous wreck!  I want to thank everyone  who called, sent text messages, and words of encouragement.  We feel so blessed to have a healthy baby so far, and that we have so much love and support. 

4/18/11

TODAY IS THE DAY!

That we find out what baby Graves is!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the big gender reveal.....

4/13/11

Prego Diet

When I say "diet" in no way do I mean that I am trying to diet/lose weight while I am pregnant.  I just want to maintain healthy eating habits for the baby, and so I won't have a ton of weight to lose after I have the baby.  I hear so often "you are eating for two", and I am very quick to tell people that is a common misconception. I do not want to have that mentality, and think that I have free rein to eat/gain as much as I want. I have to admit I have had a VERY hard time with the whole gaining weight part of being pregnant.  I think I had just worked so hard to lose weight for the wedding, and maintain it afterwards that the thought of starting over made me sick.  I have never been the type that can eat whatever I want and stay small, I have always had to watch what I eat.  I realize that it is part of it, and if I stay healthy then it won't be hard for the weight to come off afterwards.  Some women say that they feel their best when they are pregnant, but I am NOT one of those women.  Even though I have only gained about 8 lbs I feel SO much bigger than that.  I know this is just the beginning so I am trying to just come to grips with it, and embrace it.  Don't get me wrong I do indulge when I get the urge, because if I don't I will not feel satisfied until I do.  Plus I feel justified since I can't come home and have a glass of wine to relax.  I am the type of person that can eat the same thing everyday, and it takes a while for it to get old, so other than the weekend this is my diet on a typical day...

Breakfast: Two eggs (i had to get used to eating the yellow, because for so long I only ate egg whites), English muffin, and a glass of milk.

Mid-Morning Snack: Greek yogurt

Lunch: Pb&J and I was loving chips, but Luke said I needed to stop eating them, so now I have carrots.  Since I cannot have sandwich meat, and I don't eat Lean Cuisine's because if the sodium,  I had a hard time finding something for lunch that was quick and easy, so if any of you have any suggestions I would really appreciate it. 

Afternoon Snack: Apple

Dinner: it varies from night to night, but usually some kind of meat (chicken, pork chops, burgers), either brown rice or roasted potatoes, and another veggie.  We usually do whole wheat pasta one night, because that is Luke's favorite.  After dinner I usually always have to have something sweet so I eat some fruit or ice cream.



If I get hungry in between all of these meals I always keep fruit and crackers on hand.  I will say that I am not sure I buy into only 300 extra calories a day.  I can see it in the first tri-mester but my appetite has really increased, and if I am hungry I eat thata all there is to it, I just try to snack on healthy stuff.  Did anyone else have a problem with only eating 300 extra calories? 

I don't want anyone to think that I hate being pregnant, or do not feel so blessed to be carrying this little human being.  I just want to be realistic about it, and for me it is not all rainbows and unicorns, your body definitely goes through some pretty crazy stuff to carry a baby , but I wouldn't change it for the world.

4/12/11

18 Weeks....

I was 18 weeks yesterday, and my weekly e mail said the baby was the size of a bell pepper.  I am sure I will be expanding rapidly in the next few weeks, because the baby is growing so fast.  This past weekend I helped host a bridal shower for my friend Jill, and boy did I learn my lesson about overdoing it.  I have been feeling so great lately that I don't even feel pregnant, but my body knows that I am, and I need to watch how much I push it.  I was up at 7 in the morning, and on my feet (in heels during the shower), until about 6 that afternoon  We had a heat wave here in Nashville, so I don't think the 85 degree weather helped.  I was up early for church on Sunday, and it was all I could do to get home and get back in the bed.  I took an hour and a half nap, which is not like me, because I am typically not the napping type, and hit the sack at 7:30 Sunday night.  The good news is I felt really rested and ready to face the work week ahead.


Total Weight Gain: I am trying to decide if I want to get a scale for my house and keep up with it, or just go by what the Dr. says every month.



Sleep: It is getting harder and harder for me to sleep on my side, and I rarely (other than Sunday night) get a full nights sleep without waking up, but I guess that is part of it.



Food/Eating: I changed this up a bit, and just made it all one category.  I have not had any major cravings or aversions this week.  I will say my appetite has increased tremendously, I may or may not have had a whole carton of strawberries yesterday.   I am also loving watermelon, but I can't seem to find any really good and ripe ones yet.  I am not sure if this is a craving, because I love fruit in general.  I have to eat every three hours or I am starving, or I just munch on fruit throughout the whole day.



Movement: I have not been feeling the baby move nearly as much as I was last week, which makes me really nervous.

Gender: Less than a week and we will know!


What I miss: having a closet full of clothes to choose from.  I have bought things here and there, but my wardrobe is definitely limited these days.




Questions for other moms/moms to be: Did any of you have circulation problems?  I wake up several times during the night and either my arm or leg is asleep, and sometimes it hurts really bad.


What I am looking forward to: finding out what we are having, and being able to start shopping!



Best moment of the week: The Dr. called and said the blood work to test for birth defects came back normal.  I know there are still plenty of things that can go wrong, but it is just one step closer to having a healthy baby.


I am not sure if I have told you all or not but my sister is pregnant too!  Baby Maddie (Madison) will be here early July.  It has been so great to go through this experience with her, and I am so excited that our kids will grow up together.  Here we are this weekend at the bridal shower I mentioned earlier in the post.




4/7/11

Must Haves....

We are finding out what baby Graves gender is in a little over a week!  I have recently started thinking about the nursery , because I know as soon as we find out what we are having I will wanted to get started right away.  I picked up several magazines at the Dr. office last week, and was thumbing through them as I waited.  I noticed there are so many marketing gimmicks that appeal to moms, and I am sure most of the time first time moms fall for them.  I saw some things that could be very helpful, and then there were things that I wasn't too sure about.  So I want to ask all of my mommy friends out there to help me decide what are things we must have/can live without.  Our house is not tiny, but its not huge either, and I learned my lesson with the wedding about registering for things that I had no room for and would never use.  We have a older house, so as any of you with older homes know, having a older home = NO storage/closet space.  Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated.

4/1/11

16 Weeks

I was 16 weeks on Monday, but I wanted to wait until after my Dr. Appt to do my weekly post.  I had a rough start to the week, I didn't even make it to work on Monday from feeling so crappy.  I have learned a valuable lesson, and that is to bring my allergy meds home on the weekends.  Other than Monday I have had a really good week, and have been feeling pretty good.

Total Weight Gain: 6 lbs so far....my doctor said I am right on track.




Sleep: Still adjusting to sleeping on my side. 



Food Cravings: I am still loving anything salty.


Food Aversions: Last week it was turkey meat, but I was able to cook spaghetti with it this week, so I guess I am over that.



Movement: YES!  Such a wonderful feeling.  It is very subtle and I wouldn't even know what it was but I told my sister what I was feeling, and she said it was the baby.  After I eat something sweet I can really feel it moving.

Gender: I FINALLY got to make the ultrasound appointment, and we go APRIL 18th!!  I cannot wait to find out what we are having a be able to start calling it by name.....which means we should really get to work on picking out names.

What I miss: Sleeping on my back


Questions for other moms: Did any of you get a maternity pillow?  If so, did it help?  Did you only sleep on your left side?  My Dr. said it doesn't matter, but I looked online and it said to sleep on the left side.  I seem to be more comfortable on my right side.


What I am looking forward to: Seeing our baby in two weeks!  Some people say that they get to see it every other time they have a Dr appt, but we only get to hear the heartbeat, so it will be so exciting to actually see it.


Best moment of the week: being able to feel it move.  It is just another thing that makes it seem more and more real.


I am really bad at this picture taking thing.  I don't have a picture of just my belly, but I have one from one of the showers I went to last weekend, so you can kind of get the idea.  I am not even going to promise to have a better picture next week ,because I am obviously bad at keeping them, but I will try my best.

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