Hi, I'm Poppy!

Today I am 18 weeks and 5 days old, and I love to show off. Some old lady put a magic wand on my mommy's belly and moved it all around. I tried telling her to stop by waving my hands in the air. See, here they are above my head:

She kept going with that wand, so I kicked my legs around and waved my hands some more. I think I heard my mommy giggling at me. She thinks I am cute and silly. I also heard Daddy, Nonna, Gramps and Meemaw describing everything I was doing. They called me "he" and "she". Get it right, people!


The old lady with the wand said I have 10 fingers, 10 toes, 2 arms, 2 legs, and nice strong spine. I guess that's all good. And I weigh about 10 ounces. Maybe that's why mommy keeps feeding me all this rice pudding and chips and salsa; so I'll keep on growing. Oh, the old lady also said that I was measuring at 19 weeks 3 days, so maybe I'll come 5 days ahead of my due date. Whatever! 


Here's another picture. My mom and dad keep staring at it, even though I don't think it's my best angle. I hope they don't embarrass me and go showing it to everyone they know!

Nobody Told Me

Nobody told me that...

it would become too difficult to squat over public toilets with the baby bump, and i would give up and just sit down.


how incredibly freaked-out-terrified i would be for the first 12 weeks.


i would wake up in the middle of the night with charlie horses in my legs.


i would fall in love with my baby daddy all over again, every day.


feeling baby move is the coolest feeling ever in the world (ok, yes they did. but i just didn't understand until it happened). 


my tummy would grow more hair than my legs ever have. grossness.


my ribs would hurt. bad. 


when i laughed, it would be the most hearty, full, satisfying laugh i've ever felt.


sneezing would cause intense pain in my abdominal muscles, causing me to jump out of bed and double over.


at the end of the day I would find crumbs from several meals embedded in the skin on the top of my belly. delicious! 

...and i'm sure much, much more to come ; )

Do the hustle!

18 Weeks today, and the beginning of my fifth month! Getting very close to the halfway mark, woo-hoo! 
To celebrate this milestone, Poppy has been dancing all day today :) I sneezed, baby danced. I laid down, baby danced. I drove in the car, baby danced (and I cried). I've felt that amazing fluttering feeling for a few weeks now, but today has been an all-out dance party. I have found that feeling the baby move has finally given me the permission that I was waiting for to talk to him/her. I felt kind of stupid doing it before. But now, we have some communication in the works. Pretty sweet! Now I am just waiting for that first kick. Come on, poppy, hit me with your best shot! 
Vegetablally (yes, I made that word up), Poppy is about the size of a sweet potato this week. (S)he weighs approx. 5 1/2 oz and is about 5-5 1/2 inches long. Poppy also starts making poopy this week...we're so proud! Poop poppy, poop! 

Poppy looks something like this: 

In other news, I went garage sale-ing this morning and struck gold. For an antique lover and bargain-aholic (like me!), a good garage sale find it the ultimate high. As you know, I've been putting a lot of thought into Poppy's nursery, but haven't made any purchases yet. I have been waiting for that "Aha!" moment when I see that piece of furniture or piece of decor that inspires me. Well I found it today! An antique dresser in a beautiful light oak, and a shabby blue chair. They are both perfect. I also found a full set of wood letters for the alphabet wall at a different sale. Upon bringing everything home I had a panic attack over the lack of progress in the nursery. I suddenly feel anxious to have it painted tomorrow. Oh, and I found a beautiful light green changing table on craigslist, which I am hoping to pick up on Saturday. Sooooo exciting to get this vintage eclectic nursery moving along. 
Oh, and here are the dresser and chair:

The changing table:

The vintage Bambi toy highchair I found at an estate sale: 

The vintage Bambi lamp I stole from Uncle Sal:

This poor kid is going to hate antiques. Whoops! 

Poppy, you make my eyes water.

Yesterday marked 17 weeks! Poppy is now the size of an onion. I've decided it's a sweet vidalia onion, like this one:

I love onions, they make most things taste delightfully sweet and spicy and delicious. And poppy makes life delicious too. Also, onions make my eyes water (when I chop them), and it turns out poppy makes my eyes water too. I woke up early this morning (actually, Andy woke me up when he got up for work by kissing my belly good morning), so of course I turned to TLC to watch A Baby Story. I've been crying my eyes out for the last 3 hours. Just the sight of a little nugget wrapped tightly in a blanket makes me sob. And to be honest, it feels really, really good. Better than chopping onions. 

So, back to nursery talk. Mom and I went to check out cribs this week, with little success. The search is on, and I am leaning toward the white spindle posted below. I would like to see it in person though, so we're working on that. I also have been researching some fun do-it-yourself projects for poppy's room. I want to make a mobile, and came across this lovely sight:

The stars are origami, and I love the idea of handpicking all of the fun paper. Not sure I love it on the twine, but I'm confident I can come up with a creative variation. The website I found it on was a lot of fun, and it turns out this mommy made it for her daughter named....wait for it...Gia! Gia is one of our top girl's names, so of course this MUST be some kind of a sign, right?! Actually, the little girl's full name is Giavanna, which I kind of love. I have never seen it spelled that way, but I looked it up and it's a legit form of Giovanna. My mom's name is JoAnn, and she was named after her grandmother, Giovanna. Hmmmmm, Father Leo says there are no coincidences in life. I think he's right ; )

OK, off to shower and lather up in sunblock - we're going to water park today and I can't wait to float in the lazy river with my love. 

Oh Happy Day!

My name is Bree, and I'm a chocoholic. And I have no intentions of quitting this habit any time soon. It turns out I may be doing my baby (and myself!) and huge favor. A Finnish study found that mothers who ate chocolate regularly during pregnancy had happier babies. Cheers! 

And here's a link referencing the study in case you think I'm a big, fat, chocoholic liar:

 http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4854-chocolate-in-pregnancy-keeps-baby-happy.html

 http://annmariekostyk.com/2010/05/17/eat-dark-chocolate-during-pregnancy-for-healthy-mom-and-happy-baby/

Do you know what you're having?!

This is one of the top three questions people ask you when you are pregnant. "Do you know what you're having?!". Ummm, a baby (Well, unless that dream that I had in which I gave birth to Habibi wa some kind of intuition). OH, you mean a boy or a girl! Yeah, no. We have decided to remain on Team Green, which means we will not find out the baby's sex until he or she pops out. Yay! I love the anticipation, the guessing, the wondering, the element of suspense and surprise. What is my motherly instinct telling me? Girl. Has been since day one. I couldn't tell you specifically why, just a feeling. And as we all know, that's not really worth a whole lot...I could very well be completely wrong (for the first time in my life, just imagine!). Anyway, there are a load of old wives tales to help you predict the sex of your little one. Here is a big old list. I have highlighted those that hold true for each. Some of them are too early to tell, but it's still fun to play! I will update this later in pregnancy. Sooooo, is poppy a boy or a girl? Here's guessing...

It's a boy! if:
You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy Your baby's heart rate is less than 140 beats per minute You are carrying the extra weight out in front Your belly looks like a basketball Your areola have darkened considerably You are carrying low You are craving salty or sour foods You are craving protein - meats and cheese Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy The hair on your legs has grown faster during pregnancy Your hands are very dry Your pillow faces north when you sleep Dad-to-be is gaining weight too Pregnancy has you looking better than ever Your urine is a bright yellow in colour Your nose is spreading If you hang your wedding ring over your belly, it moves in circles You are having headaches You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived the number is even (36)

It's a girl! if: You had morning sickness early in pregnancy Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute (160s) You are carrying the weight in your hips and rear Your left breast is larger than your right breast Your hair gets red highlights You are carrying high Your belly looks like a watermelon You crave sweets You crave fruit You crave orange juice You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy You are moodier than usual during pregnancy Your face breaks out more than usual You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread Your breasts have really blossomed! Your pillow faces south when you sleep Your urine is a dull yellow in colour If you hang your wedding ring over your belly, it moves from side to side If you add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived the number is odd

And the Chinese Gender Chart says Girl.

Hmmmm, that's 5 for boy and 8 for girl....close call. I'll have to do the ring test later and see if that makes it even closer ; )

Those who have spent time with me recently, do you have a predicition? 

Wanna check out my crib?

Cribs, cribs, cribs! Yet another HUGE decision in project nursery. There are so damn many! And this is, of course, the most important decision in my life. I think I've narrowed it down to three. Keep in mind, the nursery will be painted white, white curtains, all furniture white, pops of color here and there. So here they are and whey I like them:


This is a Jenny Lind Crib. I love the antique style. I think my mom said it looks like the crib I had when I was a baby. I love the spindles and the sides. 

This one is a bit more modern. I love the flat top and the wood accent on the bottom. 

And last but not least, my boldest option. It also comes in green, but I am partial to the blue. And yes, I'm OK with my baby girl having a blue crib.

I know which one I'm leaning toward, but I'm dying to know: Which do you love?

Ole!

Today marks 16 weeks, which means poppy is the size of an avacado! Here's some details about how poppy is growing: The fetus now measures about 4.3 to 4.6 inches and weighs about 2.8 ounces. The top of your uterus should be felt about three inches below your belly button. The baby's eyes can blink and the heart and blood vessels are fully formed. The baby's fingers and toes should have fingerprints.


In honor of the occassion, I think I will have some guacamole :)

It's already a known fact that poppy loves mexican food, as poppy forces me to eat it several times a week. Speaking of food, I'm scared. Up until about 12 weeks I basically had to force myself to eat, and hardly anything looked or sounded appetizing. I lost 5-6 pounds. Well, my appetite is back. With a vengance. I can't seem to eat enough. Which seemed like reason to celebrate until I realized that I gained 3 pounds last week alone. Not cool. At that rate, I'll gain 72 pounds before this baby is born. NOT going to happen! So, I am trying to replace ice cream and cake with fruit, chips with carrots and celery, blah blah blah. I still have a feeling I will need to eat all day long, so I'm going to have to make some smarter choices.

In other news, I bought some maternity jeans yesterday and felt like a new person wearing them. Wow! I have not worn jeans in probably 8 weeks, so this was big. I was strutting my stuff and feeling like a million bucks. The construction workers down the street even whistled at me! (Idiots. I'm freakin pregnant). Truly amazing what a little denim can do for the self-esteem. 

Oh, and my belly rash went away! I am thinking it was the penincillin, as it was almost completely gone within 48 hours of my last pill. Nevertheless, I go back to the doc today for a follow-up. I could probably cancel the appt, but I would never do that because now every time I go in I get to hear poppy's heartbeat on the doppler. It's this little plastic tool, kinda like a walkie-talkie with a wand attached. The nurses rubs the wand on my belly and hold it still when she finds the heartbeat. Then we get to listen and it is truly the most beautiful, amazing sound in the world! I could listen all day. Unfortunately she usually only holds it there for about 20 seconds, until she can get the heartrate (which has been consistently around 164 btw). Anyway, I am super duper looking forward to that today. 

Speaking of beautiful sounds, I wrote a lullaby for poppy last night. I have always wished to be a songwriter, but was never quite able to find the inspiration. Well, it looks like poppy might be it! I recorded it on my keyboard and am going to notate it today. I want to start singing a few melodies regularly, since poppy's ears are developing. I read that when babies are born they can recognize melodies they heard regularly in the womb. How amazing! I can't want to look into my babies eyes and sing him/her to sleep. Aaaaaand, I'm crying. But what's new. I still cry at least 3-5 times a day, but the episodes only last from 2-30 seconds. Well, sometimes longer, but not as regularly. I love pregnancy hormones!

Here I am yesterday, about 10 days short of 4 months pregnant. A lot of people tell me I just look chubby and you can't tell I'm pregnant, but when I look in the mirror I see my beautiful baby. 

Ok, off to bake some zucchini bread, so poppy can get her veggies later ;)

15 weeks

As of yesterday we are 15 weeks! Yay poppy!


And I think I am allergic to my baby. I noticed on Tuesday night that my belly was itching more than ever, and figured it was because it's stretching. Wrong. I woke up Wedesday to find a nice, red rash forming. I immediately stopped scratching and called my OB, who said to come in. When he saw it he literally said, "Things that make you go hmmmmmm." Um, ok. He then told me to take benadryl, put anti-itch cream on it, and come back in a week, unless it got worse, in which case I should call the next day.
It's three days later and it's a little worse and spread across my ENTIRE belly. And yes, still itches like a mofo. Oh yeah, and I haven't taken any benadryl. Whoops. Sorry, I don't want my baby to be on uneccessary drugs. It could be an allergic reaction to the penicillin I am on for my baldder infection. My last dose is tonight so I guess if the rash goes away in the next day or two, there is our answer.
Most importantly, the doc didn't seem to be worried that the rash could hurt poppy in anyway. I can handle an itchy belly if the end result is a beautiful baby in my arms in 25 short weeks : ) Plus, it beats morning sickness any day!

in a white room...

Soooo, I got called back to work (yay) which means I only get to lay around the house dreaming about poppy for about 5 more weeks. Poor me. Anyway, I want to get started on the nursery before I go back to work...clean it out and paint it at the least. Yippee! I LOVE to decorate. It does, however, pose some problems because I can be very indecisive. And of course this is, like, the most important decision of my life.

I began by browsing the internet for nursery photos and ideas. And then my lovely friend kelly invited me to pinterest.com, which had all kinds of eye candy. I looked and browsed and thought and worried. I actually had dreams about the colors to use one night last week and woke up several times in a cold sweat. "Black, white and red?!" "Cobalt blue?!" Sheesh. What I am going to do when it comes time to choose poppy's preschool...ok, ok. One thing at a time. 

Anyway, I eventually came to the decision that I want to paint the nursery white and get all white furniture. This way I can add pops of color with the mobile, wall art, and fun antiquey/kitschy things that I find over the next 6 months. I am so excited! Here are some inspiration photos:

I love the spindle crib in this pic too:

Now I just need the motivation to clear out the room...