16 week belly shot: sweat pants edition

*I look insanely tired in this photo since I took it after packing for our trip south for Xmas - although the terrible lighting in our kitchen is not doing me any favors.

Ahhh sweat pants. You will be my uniform this winter. Now that the temperatures are dropping at alarming rates, I find that my clothes choices are becoming increasingly limited. Gone are the days of breezy jersey dresses with ballet flats which would be lovely on my growing belly right now. Instead I find myself trying to wear those same summer dresses with tights that cut off my circulation or attempting to squeeze into a pair of old work pants with a extra long top to hide either the bella band or my brazenly unbuttoned waist. Thank god my friend Tina gave me a pair of her maternity jeans early. While I can still wear a couple pairs of my old fat jeans and most of my more stylish ones with the Bella, the maternity jeans are the most comfortable by far (and since they are Sevens, much nicer than my usual Old Navy uniform). I'm going to North Carolina this week for Xmas and expect to spend a fair amount of time maternity clothes shopping with Mom so I should come back with some more socially acceptable choices in work and weekend wear since I assume this is only the tip of a long, fat iceberg.

Belly Size: Still not terribly noticeable in clothes, but as I told my friend Candace, when I'm naked, you can definitely tell. And as I also told her, I will not be subjecting anyone to that.
Weight Gain:+5 according to the Dolphin Gym scale (not a reliable source - my gym is terrible). I recently bought a couple of maternity workout dvds. I fully expect Summer Sanders to lead me through a prenatal workout that will keep my weight gain minimal. If not, I might sue.
Cravings:I've been eating entirely too much sugar but really, that was par for the course before getting pregnant. Hot Cherry Peppers have also been frequenting the fridge and I'm still trying to curb my pizza cravings which have haunted me since college.

Do I need this? The Belly Bandit

Today I'm starting a new installment on the blog: Do I need this? I've had some down time at work the past few days so I've had a chance to research some of the things I've put on my "Baby Hoss To Do" Excel file. While I was checking on my OB's website for info on birthing classes (a definite need) I was surprised to find a link under the "postpartum care" section for this:



Though it looks like a cross between a Victorian era girdle and a medieval torture device, apparently this contraption is The Belly Bandit and I may need one. According to the website, The Belly Bandit will suck in my overextended stomach muscles, push out any water retention, and make me look like celebrity spokesperson Kourtney Kardashian in no time after spending 9 months growing a baby and eating an insane amount of chocolate. I've seen this thing before and thought it was silly (proof being the Kardashian connection), but if it is so silly then why does my OB seem to be recommending it. Now I'm just confused and slightly frightened about having to wear a weightlifter's belt immediately after childbirth and then continuously, even while sleeping, for 6-8 weeks postpartum (as recommended by The Belly Banditeers).

And if I get this, I will certainly not be getting the Kardashian designed black lace sexy version. I have my standards.

Current Obsession: Flensted Mobiles

Since I'm in full nursery "corner" mode lately and there is really not much that I can do with a corner, I've been obsessing about the littlest things that can make it cute and fun for Hoss. Which leads me to a subject that I've been spending way too much time researching - mobiles. I figure that we will want something hanging over the crib to catch the little guy's eye and also to bring in as much decoration as possible. I'm not too impressed with the offerings on Babies R' Us (which is where I plan to get most of my baby gear). Everything leans towards pink or blue with a bunch of bells and whistles. I tend to like things that are a bit more simple. So I turned to Etsy again and found a whole collection of simple, artistic, and modern mobiles by a company out of Denmark named Flensted. Now I just have to figure out which one to get.

Hoss's Nursery "Corner" is on its way!

As I mentioned in my last post, Baby Hoss doesn't get a room in our apartment because, well, there isn't one to give him. With the help of my friend Jessica, I've figured out the perfect corner of our bedroom that will fit a minicrib exactly. For those of you without much of a concept in tiny furniture that will fit small spaces, a minicrib is about 15' smaller in length than a regular sized crib. However it does apparently convert into a toddler bed though I assume a very small one.

As easy as it was to find a minicrib that was affordable, made well and not completely heinous looking, finding bedding for these minicribs has been a ridiculous task. None of the major baby stores give much in the way of options outside of pastels, blatent boy/girl themes, or nauseating Disney characters. Since we will have Hoss in our bedroom, I wanted to at least try to find something that was close to the color palette of our room - black and white (oh so baby-friendly). Thank god for Etsy. When I searched on Etsy, I was able to find a bunch of custom design baby bedding stores that have a wealth of color palettes that where cute, stylish, and generally gender neutral. I placed the order today on the following palatte at Custom House Baby:

We'll be getting a quilt and crib skirt made out fabric 2 and some sheets to go along with it. I decided to forgo a crib bumper - partly due to cost, partly due to the recommendations against them. Since I'm buying each part separately, I figure it's an easy thing to leave off. To top it all off, my friend Candace went to Africa on safari this summer and got some amazing shots of elephants, giraffes and rhinos so I'll be blowing some of those up and framing them above the crib. So even without a full room, Hoss will have a little corner all his own.

Dear Baby Hoss...

I've been thinking a lot lately about things Ross and I get to teach our little one, how we will shape him/her as a person and what Baby Hoss will think of his/her crazy parents. We've been together a long time (10 years in a couple of months time) and there are definitely things that we enjoy doing, accomplishments we are proud of, and quirks that we are known for that Hoss will get to discover through the years. Some of them we may not even want the little guy to know about until he/she is MUCH older. Anyway, here are some of the random things that I've been thinking about and that Hoss will eventually come to learn about the parents -

-Your parents met when they were very young (19 and 20 respectively) and pretty much have spent every single day together ever since except for a year-long forcibly imposed hiatus due to your dad annoyingly being one year older than your mom and having to graduate college and all. That year sucked and you probably won't ever hear much about it because it's a year we would rather forget.

-We enjoy picnics, either outside or inside, and we have them often to celebrate little events, enjoy the weather, or just because. Most of these picnics involve wine and/or cheese. We can't wait to have you join (except you will be served milk).

-Your dad formed a punk band with his cousin a couple years after moving to NYC with the sole purpose of producing an album and playing at CBGB's. He and I are extremely proud that he accomplished both those goals - and then promptly disbanded. There is a mock documentary about it though. However, due to the inappropriateness of the band name, you probably won't hear about any of this until high school.

-We have loved living in NYC, especially in the area of the city we live in. We plan to show you as much of it as we possibly can while we are still living here. I daydream often about all of the walks we'll take in Central Park, looking at the tree in Rockefeller Center around Christmas time, and sitting in Washington Square to watch all the crazy people go by. Though we know we are moving away before you get old enough to enjoy the city, we promise we'll bring you back to visit.

-On that same note, though we have loved living in NYC, we apologize that you won't have your own room right away. Actually it kind of breaks my heart a little that I am planning your nursery "corner" instead of a real nursery. I promise your dad and I are excellent roommates though and I can provide references.

-Your dad is pretty much fluent in Spanish and already has plans of making you bilingual. He also believes that I have the ability to teach you French and make you trilingual. I assure you that I do not have that ability (Je suis en coca-cola, anyone?).

-Even though both your mom and dad, Grammy Walters and Grandaddy Inman, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Fiona, Uncle Mike and Cousin Greg all went to Wake Forest University, you will not be expected to go there. However, you have a pretty sweet family alumni history to put on your application if you do.

-You are probably going to be indoctrinated as a Dallas Cowboys fan from an early age. Actually, I shouldn't say probably - I already have socks and a "littlest Cowboys fan" bib for you. You may hear some crap about this from your mom's friends in Pennsylvania.

-Speaking of Pennsylvania, your mom is from the sweetest place on Earth, Hershey, and is exceedingly proud of this. We will be going there on family trips often and you may have to indulge me in visiting the same spots over and over again. You will be rewarded in copious amounts of chocolate.

-Finally, we are so excited to meet you though it still seems like so far off. We talk alot about what you will look like (blond hair and brown eyes, brown hair and blue?), if your personality will be more like mom or dad, how we know you will be exceedingly smart and thoughtful and full of joy and laughter. However you turn out, you are already extremely loved.

Love, Mom.

Baby Hoss at 13 weeks

This past Tuesday it was time for another ultrasound, this time for Down Syndrome detection. I'm not sure if the amount of ultrasounds we have had in the first trimester is normal or not but it seems like we've had a lot. Not that I'm complaining. Any chance to see the gummi bear is ok with me. So as for the testing, we found out that everything is pretty much perfect. Apparently I am in the genetic percentile of 20 year olds as far as Down Syndrome and Trisomy 13. I will take any comparison of me to a 20 year old. The ultrasound tech took a long time which meant we got to see tons of shots of Baby Hoss. Hoss was moving around a lot and at one point, we are pretty sure Hoss waved to us. Also, at one point I thought I could tell the sex, but apparently that was just the umbilical cord. We did ask the tech if she could figure out what the sex was, even though it is still really early. She said that if she had to take bets, she would say that Baby Hoss is a boy but that we shouldn't take that as fact. So we will leave any real announcements of gender or names until we have confirmation at 20 weeks on January 19th.

Now I thought that I would have a 3D pic to post up here and at one point, the tech did switch over to 3D. I will not be subjecting any of you to it. Hoss looked like a cross between a monkey and an alien and something was protruding out of its chest which I have since come to learn is apparently the intestines moving from the umbilical cord to the fetus. It was disturbing enough that even the tech said "maybe I shouldn't have switched over." Yeah, maybe you shouldn't have Lady. Anyway, I have some cute pics of Hoss below, looking human and waving to everyone.

Happy Thanxmas!

I'm a little late with posting this but it has been a long week. We traveled down to Houston to visit with Ross's family for the Thanksgiving, or in Ross's family Thanxmas, holiday. We call it Thanxmas since we don't visit at Xmas time and all of Ross's mom's side of the family is together. We start out on Wednesday night with a big Xmas meal of manicotti, sausage and peppers, and this year, some italian cream cake to honor Ross's grandfather Papa Nick who was full blooded Italian. Then on Thursday, we go to Aunt Melinda's house for a southern Thanksgiving meal. It is a week filled with A LOT of food and it is a great time that we look forward to every year. Happy Thanxmas!