12 Weeks

I can't get enough: Chocolate milk. Every time my supervisor asks me how the pregnancy is going she tells me about how she drank a gallon of chocolate milk every day while pregnant with her son. Well, this week chocolate milk started sounding really yummy. I don't drink in the extremes that my supervisor did but it's been my lunch time or snack time beverage of choice.

New stuff for Rabbit: We just picked up a wicker basket on sale at Micheal's for Rabbit's room. It's white with a yellow cloth lining and a yellow giraffe patch on the front. It matches a basket we got a few weeks ago with a blue lining and whale patch.

New stuff for Mommy (that's me!): I picked up a few more pairs of pants from Motherhood. Since my trip two weeks ago I've been pretty much wearing my two pairs of maternity pants on rotation. Today I got another pair of work pants and a pair of jeans. Hopefully that will see me through.
I also got some cocoa butter stretch mark lotion. I've read that stretch marks are a genetic thing and you can't prevent them with lotions but the lotion smells like chocolate and it's a nice excuse to get Mr. to rub my belly. ;-)

Looking forward to: my next midwife appointment in one week! This time my mom is coming up for the weekend and to go to the appointment with me. Since she lives far away and we're going with an unconventional maternity care/birthing choice I thought it would be nice for her to get to see where Rabbit & I are being cared for.

My biggest complaint: Still feeling pretty tired. I haven't really gotten sick from all my adorable yet sneezy kiddos at work but I think fighting off all their germies is contributing to Rabbit's drainage of my energy reserves.

Mr is reading: The Caveman's Pregnancy Companion: A Survival Guide for Expectant Fathers. From what I read/scanned in the book store it's pretty funny while informative. Mr is sitting on the other end of the couch reading highlights aloud to me as I type. I'm pretty fond of it already. It has a massage guide, a chapter on pregnancy nutrition and recipes (for him to make) and for some reason he just got very upset when I told him "yes, my feet are cold" and immediately grabbed them to warm them.

I'm reading: Ask A Midwife. This is another book I grabbed from my midwife's bookshelf. This one is a vast improvement upon The Girlfriend's Guide. It's broken into chapters then subsections and presented in a question and answer format. In this aspect, it's pretty easy to navigate and skip around to get exactly the information you're looking for. It's not dense and there are pictures which i guess is nice if that's what you want in a book. So if you want a quick, easy reference, this just might be the book for you. If, however, you are like me and also are reading multiple comprehensive pregnancy guides (What to Expect; Your Pregnancy Week by Week) and tracking through a couple (*cough* seven *cough  cough*) pregnancy apps on your phone, then this book doesn't have much new information and doesn't go into as much detail. It does get props though, for avoiding cutesy or cliche phrases (What to Expect; Your Pregnancy Week by Week) and stereotypes or offensive statements (Your Pregnancy Week by Week; The Girlfriend's Guide).

Apple vs. Pumpkin: Choose your side!

I don't know about all of you, but my Facebook and Pinterest feeds are being overwhelmed with pumpkin everything at the first sniffs of fall. Where are the apples?!?!
Don't get me wrong, you all know I can enjoy some pumpkin and tis the season, but Johnny Appleseed doesn't have his own holiday for nothing!
So I propose a friendly competition of sorts between the top two classic tastes of fall; Apple vs. Pumpkin!
How to participate:

1. Comment below with a link to your favorite pumpkin or apple recipe or craft.
2. If you Pin, follow me on Pinterest (if you don't already) and comment with a request to be added as a Pinner to one or both of my Pinterest boards. 
3. Share as many recipes/crafts as you like. Pick a team or support both sides! 
4. Share this blog post with as many people as you want. The more participants, the merrier! 

Happy Fall and let the competition begin!

Team Apple! Ham & Apple Pie

  

Team Pumpkin! Pumpkin Bottom Cupcakes

10 Weeks!

I can't get enough: orange juice

Last week we: had our first midwife appointment at The Midwife Center got to hear the baby's heartbeat through Doppler! It was pretty much the coolest experience ever! We were told we only had about a 50/50 chance of hearing it this early and there was no reason to worry if we didn't but I was really hoping we would. It took forever for the midwife to find our little one but I'm so glad she kept looking. I guess she heard it a few times before getting a good shot at it because she kept saying, "oh did you hear that?!" If you've never heard Doppler on a prego belly before, let me tell you, there's all kinds of whooshy sounds going on. I didn't know what she was listening for until she found it at last and then it was pure magic!

My biggest complaint: I'm so tired and thirsty!

I really miss: still lunch meat.

Mr is a shining star: I was so nervous at our first midwife appointment and Mr was amazing. Totally calm and supportive and exactly what I needed. So far everything looks good but we do have a few tests to get done based on family history and he definitely helped me stay level-headed about all of it.

What I'm reading: We borrowed this book from The Midwife Center. Seems pretty cute but I haven't gotten far in it yet. More on this later.
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9 Weeks

I can't get enough: baked potatoes! Try subbing plain Greek yogurt for sour cream.

Looking forward to: our first midwife appointment at The Midwife Center.

My biggest complaint: my back is killing me! Last week, I couldn't sleep through the night without waking up starving at 3 am. The Mr is surely happy that symptom is on hiatus.

I really miss: lunch meat. I could kill for a great big grinder (sub, hoagie...) these days. First take out after baby will definitely be a trip to 9th Street Deli, home of the 2 ft long sub!

Mr is a shining star: Rabbit's room is already half painted. He keeps asking about projects he can work on for the room. After a meltdown this week, I came home from work to find our room spotless! He bought me a bouquet of flowers in my favorite color (yellow) for no reason. And he made me breakfast twice this weekend. I keep telling him that he's spoiling me.

Products I love: Alba's Natural Acnedote. I use their scrub and cleanser daily to keep acne under control. I spent a few days at my sister's without it and noticed a difference right away. I love that the salicylic acid is naturally derived from willow bark.

Bun in the Oven!

Shh! I've got a surprise!