Nursery Pictures

So here is how we did the stripes:

1. Measure and tape for the stripes (12 inches wide and 12 inches apart)

2. Since paint tends to bleed through the taping, we used the original paint (satin finish) and painted a "seal" where the semi-gloss stripes were going to be. We let this dry.

3. Then we painted with the semi-gloss finish paint, just one coat was enough.

4. Took off the tape slowly and carefully (important to use tape that won't take off the paint under it) to reveal a beautiful and straight line :)

Anna, Brian, and my Dad hard at work while I supervised and took photos:

The finished product! Since I am not a photographer and don't have a professional grade camera the stripes are a little harder to see, they are more apparent in person:

We just love it!

And here is Abby and Cassidy keeping MJ entertained :)

21w 0d

The nursery paint is complete! I should accompany this post with pictures, but I didn't get a chance to upload them yet, I will though. We are so happy with how it turned out, it's exactly what I was picturing. My Dad and Anna came over to help which we really appreciated. Anna brought over some adorable outfits from Old Navy that she couldn't resist, it was so sweet of her. She even brought me some hangers she had so I was able to put up some more clothes in Bria's closet. I had so much fun looking at all the clothes Anna got, I can't wait to dress Bria in them.
Taping the stripes actually went pretty quick, especially with 4 of us there. There really wasn't enough for all of us to do so I sat down and "supervised" and spent time with my little sister's, Abby and Cassidy. We were sitting there eating candy corn and I said to them, "Man, I am working really hard on this room." Totally joking of course. Abby looked at me confused and asked, "THEY are working hard or you are?" We all started laughing and I told her I was just kidding, THEY were working hard.

After the paint dried and we had taken the tape off, I vacuumed the room and then sat down with all Bria's clothes. I hung as many outfits as I had hangers for and then sorted the rest by size. I was in heaven. I could seriously go through those clothes everyday, I love imagining my little baby girl in these cute clothes and can't wait to dress her in them.
I am so curious about what she is going to look like. Will she look more like me or Brian? Or maybe a perfect mix? What color of eyes will she have (I have blue and Brian has green)? What color will her hair be, will it be curly like Brian's or straight like mine? So many questions, I just can't wait to meet her.

Week 20

Symptoms:

Feeling hungry often during the day, but trying to control those and not over eat. My hips get numb and achy during night so I have to switch sides often which is not easy with a body pillow and belly. I use to be able to stand up, bend over, and put socks on gracefully - this is not happening so much. I have to brace myself and bend my leg and set it on the other leg, or just sit down and do it, I can imagine how hard it will be to tie shoes and such when I get bigger!

We started reading Babywise this week and wow do I love that book. We both agree with what the author says and the techniques they suggest. We're excited to use them and pray we do them right so they work.

Bria is still not kicking very hard so I only feel faint movement. But I am feeling her a little more often than I was. I am being told to enjoy this "quiet" time since soon I hear she'll keep me up, but I also really want to feel her kicks more strongly and consistently. I may bring it up at my next appointment just to see. Maybe she's just a calm baby? If so that is definitely from her Dad!

We are starting the stripes in the nursery tonight and I am very excited. I hate that all the nursery stuff is shoved in the guest room all unorganized, it's driving me nuts. I just don't like the in between stages, I get impatient and just want the end result now. Brian is like that too, when we painted our whole downstairs we were done in a weekend. We just couldn't stand the tape being up and furniture in the middle of the room. So needless to say I'm ecstatic that by Sunday we'll be done painting :)


Baby:
You're at the halfway mark — congratulations! Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (The way your baby is measured changes now.) She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first soiled diaper (although some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Belly picture (it got round!):

And just so you guys don't think I run around in a sports bra and pj bottoms, here is one with clothes on :)

20w 1d

I went to see my friend Shauna last Friday and her little girl, Aria who is 6 months old and adorable. Shauna and I cheered together at OSU and had some great times together, she is a phenomenal cheerleader, seriously. Anyway, she gave me a sack full of maternity clothes, 3 sacks full of baby clothes, and a newborn bath-the exact one I had registered for! It was so incredibly sweet of her and I really appreciate her generosity. The bonus is that Aria was born March 3rd and Bria's due date is February 20th so all the clothes were the right size for the seasons, yay! It was a lot of fun catching up with Shauna and hearing how she loves being a mommy. And oh-my did I have fun when I got home and looked at all the adorable clothes. It was seriously the best Friday night.

So we went to get the bedding on Saturday at Walmart and on our way Brian said, "Now remember, they may not have the bedding in the store, it might just be online." I sat there and couldn't believe I never thought of that, both Babies R Us and Target didn't have very much of their bedding selection in the store, most of it was online. So why did I think that Walmart Supercenter would have it? I was thankful he said that because it prepared me for the truth-no bedding at Walmart. I warned Brian I may lay on the floor and throw a tantrum because I wanted the bedding and I wanted it NOW! He thanked me for the warning and said he'd be in the tool section. Lucky for him I did not flop myself on the ground because it would've been uncomfortable and hard to get up. After some pouting we headed to Home Depot for an extra shelf thing for Bria's closet. I cheered up even more when I got a decaf pumpkin pie latte, mmm.

So we headed home and accomplished a lot that day. Brian put up the shelf in the closet which I am so excited about, thanks hun :) The closet is small in there so I wanted to add another place to hang clothes and a shelf.

Before

After

Then we painted the nursery! Well, Brian did most of it since I didn't want to breath in the paint fumes and get both Bria and myself high. Even with the window open and 2 fans going it was pretty strong in there. I would paint for 10 minutes and then take a long break. Anyway, we painted it a beige color and I just love it. On 2 of the walls we are going to do thick stripes. What color are the stripes going to be? The same beige color. So how will we see a difference and what is the point of that? Because we are going to do the stripes in a gloss finish. My stepmom did this with Cassidy's room and I just loved it. It's very subtle but just enough to add a little somethin'. So we are hoping to do that this Friday night, yep, we get crazy on the weekend!

Brian painting

Me and the belly painting

The 2 walls you see in this picture are the ones that are going to have the gloss stripes

I just love the color, did I mention that?

I was seriously in heaven doing the nursery. I feel like this is such a big moment and it helps it all feel more real. This is just such an exciting time and I'm trying to take it all in and enjoy it. Bria is making it easy on me to enjoy since I feel great. I love being pregnant (please remind me I said this in another 2 months or so when I'm complaining).

I know part of the reason I feel so great is my iron level. At 2 of my appointments the doctor's commented on how great my iron level was, they couldn't believe it. I told them I couldn't either because I've always been borderline anemic (most young women are) and that I owe it all to the prenatal vitamins. I've been taking them since January which I believe really helped.

I'm at the halfway point, wahoo!

Week 19

*I split up the last post I did where I mixed the u/s pictures with the week 19 update.

Symptoms:

Things are moving right along. My belly is definitely getting bigger and people are commenting more and more on it. I love rubbing it and talking to her, especially now that we can say "her" and use her name.
I told little MJ that she was going to have a younger sister, she stared at me blankly, I think she's still in shock. But once she realizes Bria won't be able to deflect her constant licking I know she'll be elated. Every second I'm not watching the baby I know MJ will be licking her to death. As Brandi always said: Dog can't hold it's licker!
Still not craving anything crazy, loving my green apples and peanut butter protein bars. I could eat cereal for every meal, but that was true when I wasn't pregnant. My favorites right now are Shredded Wheat-Honey Nut and Corn Flakes. It changes every 2 weeks, that's when I go grocery shopping.
I'm just feeling really good and I am very thankful for that. I am about half way through the pregnancy, which means only 20 more weeks until we meet little Bria!


Baby:

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. The hair on her scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, taking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you. *I actually did remember to take a 19 week belly shot, but our computer at home is painfully slow so I have a hard time getting motivated to download pictures from it. I will soon though!

Belly picture

Ultrasound Pictures!

Bria Michelle

The first shot is a profile with her head on the left, then belly, and finally her legs which are curved up.

And here is her adorable little foot that I can't wait to kiss and tickle.

Guess what...

That's right, our little one is a little baby girl! We are thrilled to have a little daughter :) The ultrasound went great and it was so fun to see her moving around in there. I can't believe I can't feel all those movements, she was a mover and a shaker. Apparently my bladder was too full so I had to empty it a little before we could start, which was just fine with me!

Her heart was beating at 140 bpm and she had 10 little fingers and 10 little toes. Oh goodness it was just amazing, I can't believe we're having a girl!

We of course started calling family as soon as we left the doctor's office, everyone is very excited. Brian's mom had 3 adorable outfits that she gave us, I love that I can start filling her closet already, hehe.

Then we went and registered which was fun. I'm glad we took the whole day off, it was a good day.

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the big u/s!!!! I can't believe it's less than 24 hours away, I am just so stinkin' excited to see our little baby. The doctor's office just called to confirm the appointment which made me all giddy, I'm such a dork.

We are going to register afterwards but I will try and post the big news in the early evening, at the latest Friday morning.

We welcome prayers that our little one is healthy and growing strong :)

19w

So ya know how I said I was holding off on wearing maternity pants? Well Saturday I looked at the maternity pants Jaime gave me and thought, "Well it's Saturday, I should be comfortable, I'll just wear them today." It was a good day, I was very comfortable. I ended up being very productive that day:
Did laundry
Cleaned bathrooms
Cleaned wood floors
Went to the bank
Went to Target
Went grocery shopping
Made banana muffins

Aww the power of comfort :) I think I'm going to put the maternity jeans in the mix of pants I can wear now, no use holding off now.

I am beyond excited that our big u/s in only 3 days away, WAHOO!!! As fast as the weekend went by, and as much as I dread Mondays, today I was happy because it is 1 day closer to seeing our little baby :)
I can't believe how close the gender poll is, it's almost split in half between who thinks boy and who thinks girl. Can't wait to find out.

I'm still not feeling consistently stronger kicks from the little one, but I think I'm probably just being impatient. I'm reading Frankly Pregnant (among many other pregnancy books) and at week 19 not only was she feeling kicks consistently, but her husband could feel them too! Ugh, should I be feeling them more consistentely? Should they be strong enough for Brian to feel? Should I chill out?

I bought another shirt at Target. Not a maternity shirt, just a normal flowy, long shirt that is in style right now. Lucky me. It's very comfortable and it was on clearance for $6.98. I love finding good deals. So far I've purchased 3 shirts for a total of $25.00, not too shabby.

Week 18

Symptoms:

Happiness :) I am just so excited to be pregnant and can't wait to meet the little person that is growing inside me. Although I don't feel them often, the tiny nudges and kicks are amazing.
Things are going well, just plugging along. I feel like the last 3 weeks have gone by terribly slow, but that may be due to our big appointment next Thursday that we simply can't wait for. We haven't seen the little one since week 10, that was a long time ago! I pray everything is good and healthy with the baby. I also hope we get the money shot so we can see if we're having a son or daughter.

I'm starting to get hungry more often, I still have small meals but an hour later I'm hungry again. So I snack a lot throughout the day and try to make it healthy snacks, I'm loving green apples right now. I don't have any weird cravings, I enjoy scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast lunch or dinner, but that's always been a favorite meal of mine.

*Warning: This paragraph is about boobs (mine, to be specific):
I do enjoy my bigger boobs and Brian isn't complaining either. I know most people still wouldn't consider them large, but they are to me! They aren't too sore right now like they were at the beginning of the pregnancy, but I know that won't last so I told Brian to take advantage while he can ;)

I had more nerve pain in my lower back on my left side for a few days. It wasn't horrible, but it was embarrassing when my leg gave out because of the pain. It has since gone away, but I know it'll be back with a vengeance.

I'm still squeezing into my jeans, although that doesn't mean I haven't gained weight. I'm just trying to get as much use out of them as I can since once I have to wear maternity clothes I'll get tired of them quickly. No muffin top though, don't worry. My sister gave me a pair of maternity jeans that fit me great, some days I almost wear them because of how comfortable they are, but then I remind myself I'll be wearing those everyday for awhile so just to hold off. I am in need of more shirts so I may have to make a quick Old Navy and Target run this weekend. Hopefully there are some sales going on :)

My hair is shedding like crazy. Seriously, how do I still have hair left on my head? Somehow I do and it's growing fast, I may take an inch or two extra off at my next hair appointment. Speaking of, I need to make that appointment.

I need to wrap up my research as we'll be registering next Thursday! We might purchase the bedding set so we can get the room started, but we'll see. I feel like I want to do a lot of registering online since there is more of a selection. Plus, I'm remembering how much "fun" Brian was when we registered for the wedding, it might be better to do some of it myself or with my mom and sister. If he's in a good mood than he'll be patient and have an opinion, otherwise he just stands there and waits for me to make a decision only adding things like, "Sure," "Ok," "That's fine." These may sound great, but it's his way of hurrying the process and I don't like that. So let's cross our fingers he's in a good mood next Thursday, he better be after we find out the baby is healthy and we're having a son or daughter!


Baby:
Head to rump, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, although he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Belly Picture: