12 Weeks!

Today's date: Wednesday, January 5, 2011 (Happy New Year!)

How far along: 12 weeks/3 months

Sex: Unknown...but anxiously awaiting that 20 week appointment!!

Maternity clothes: Still haven't busted out anything maternity, but that's probably because I've been wearing black stretchy pants almost every day!

Sleep: Eh.

Best moment(s) of the week: Oh my gosh.  We heard the heartbeat yesterday.  Amazing.  Breathtaking.  Emotional.  Unbelievable.  One of the most amazing things I've ever experienced.  173bpm strong!

Movement: Can't feel anything...baby is still too small but apparently baby has reflexes now and if I prod my abdomen, it would squirm in response!

Food cravings/aversions: Still nothing too serious.

Morning sickness: Have been having a little queasiness again, when my stomach is empty.

Symptoms: Soooo tired again.

Labor signs: Way too soon.

Belly button in or out:  Definitely still in.

What I miss: Since my last update, I found out that I CAN eat feta cheese, as long as its made with pasteurized milk!  Woowoo!

What I'm looking forward to: First ultrasound tomorrow!!  Hopefully everything looks good!

Size and growth of our baby: Baby is now the size of a LIME!

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, its toes will curl, its eye muscles will clench, and its mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if I prod my abdomen, our baby will squirm in response, although I won't be able to feel it. Baby's intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into its abdominal cavity about now, and its kidneys will begin excreting urine into its bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. Its face looks unquestionably human: eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, baby is just over 2 inches long and weighs half an ounce.

I couldn't resist!

This past weekend, our friends Andrew and Natasha came up from Charleston, West Virginia to celebrate our last baby-less New Years Eve with us.  We've spent a couple NYE's together in the past and no matter what we do, we always have a nice time.  This year, we laid pretty low and just hung out here ate some good pizza, the boys drank man drinks and we sipped on sparkling cider that Natasha brought : )

Anyway, the next day we headed down to Shadyside to hit up Anthropolgie while the boys stayed back and went to Lowe's {to get supplies to later hang cabinets in the kitchen}.  Natasha got some really cute, colorful things for her kitchen and I was so happy when I came across some of my favorite lettered hooks that were half off!  This is where the I-couldn't-resist comes in...I bought three of them (well, actually Natasha bought them for me as a sneaky Christmas gift).  One S, which is obviously pretty practical, but I couldn't resist buying a C and a J.  Why those two letters, you ask?

Because those are the first initials of the two names we have picked out, for a girl and boy, respectively!  I'm probably jumping the gun, but I couldn't resist and hopefully I can use the other letter down the road.

I'll leave you with a picture of my trusty photography assistant in his new favorite spot : )

xoxo,
meghan

teeny, tiny, super fast...heartbeat!

Today was my second baby appointment and while I was excited, I was also a little nervous!  I knew that this was the appointment that we would be able to hear the heartbeat, but what if we couldn't hear it?  What if the nurse couldn't find it?  Oh, the thoughts that go through my mind!!

It was funny because after going over my charts and asking me a few questions, and before even mentioning the word "heartbeat" she asked me how lucky I was feeling today.  Knowing what she was implying I responded with a big smile on my face "Really lucky!"  She then replied with a friendly but accusing look, as if she knew my nervous tendancies, "Ok, but are you going to be nervous if we don't hear anything?  You're still a touch early to hear the heartbeat."  Of course I said I wouldn't be nervous (slight lie).  Then I looked at Brad who was covering his mouth and laughing because of all people, he knows how nervous I get about even the littlest things.  We all kind of giggled and she went to get her magic wand.

Its safe to say that there's definitely a baby growing inside my belly and we definitely heard the 173bpm heartbeat.  Brad compared it to the sound of Moose panting after a good run.  Ha!

It was such a surreal moment.  I wanted to laugh, cry and burst at the seams with happiness.  There's really a baby growing inside of me!  eeee!

On another baby related note, I'm going to start my monthly belly pictures on Wednesday, which marks my 12th week.  I can't believe I'm almost out of my first trimester!

On a non-baby related note, we decided that we're going to redo our kitchen on the cheap, to tie us over until we have more time/savings to knock down walls, pick out fancy cabinets and counters, etc.  But, we have a pretty good plan and we're excited to finally have a more functional kitchen.

Here are the realtor befores - before we even moved in...

white stove is gone.  new stove took its place.

I'll be sure to post pictures as we make progress...should be a fun project!

xoxo,
meghan

11 Weeks!

Today's date: Wednesday, December 29, 2010

How far along: 11 weeks

Sex: Unknown...but anxiously awaiting that appointment!

Maternity clothes: I got my first real maternity shirt from my mom for Christmas but its not really my shirts that are snug, its the waist of my pants : )

Sleep: Sleep has been ok.  The past few days I've been waking up at 6:00am on the nose.  Not sure why but I always force myself back to sleep.  Too early to start my day!

Best moment(s) of the week: The Mucci clan didn't show their excitement as much as I had envisioned, but everyone is thrilled and it was great to finally tell all of them!

Movement: Can't feel anything...baby is still too small.

Food cravings/aversions: Nothing too intense yet.

Morning sickness: I'm still feeling really good, aside from last night when I started feeling pretty queasy on an empty stomach.

Symptoms: Nothing too intense, just really bad gas at night.  ha!

Labor signs: Way too soon.

Belly button in or out:  Definitely still in.

What I miss: I still miss feta cheese...it was my favorite salad topping.

What I'm looking forward to: Our second doctor appointment on Jan 3 - we'll get to hear the heartbeat!

Size and growth of our baby: Baby is now the size of a FIG!

Our baby is just over 1 1/2 inches long is now almost fully formed. Baby's hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under the gums, and some of the bones are beginning to harden.

Baby's already busy kicking and stretching, and its tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as its body grows and becomes more developed and functional. I won't feel baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will I notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that its diaphragm is forming.

a Little Golden Book

While I was home this weekend, I dragged my mom downstairs to help me find some of my favorite books from my childhood...specifically, Baby Dear.  Its a Little Golden Book and I had to find it since its not printed anymore.  Lucky for me, my mom kept a lot (a LOT) of our favorite things from when we were little, so I knew she would have it somewhere!  Sure enough, it was right where she thought it was...along with a stack of other favorites!

{please note the price tags on some of the books...$0.70...$0.89...can't get a new book for that price anymore!}

Its a short little story about a little girl taking care of her baby doll, just as her mother takes care of her new baby sister.

Not worn...just loved.

I got this book on my second Christmas...

and these were always two of my favorite pages.

 Oh, the memories these books bring back!  Can't wait to read them to our little one someday : ) Thanks for keeping these, Mother!

xoxo,
meghan

First Baby Outfit!

We got our first baby outfit and when I opened the box it was wrapped in, I almost cried!  I can't believe we're going to have someone that will fit into such a small piece of clothing!

xoxo,
meghan

Merry Christmas - A Recap in Photos!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends...and lots of good food!  Brad and I headed off for Michigan on Tuesday afternoon and spent all week packing, unpacking and running back and forth between each of our parents' houses.  Having our parents living so close to each other definitely has its advantages, as we always get to see both families, but its always very hectic running between both houses all week long.  Despite the craziness, we have a great time with both families and we even got to have Christmas Eve dinner all together at one of our favorite restaurants back home.

Even though we always go home for Christmas, we always do some decorating around our house.  This year, we didn't do as much since our house is in such disaray {and I was lacking energy}, we still managed to cut down and put up a tree {Brad broke the star while trying to get it to stay}, get our stockings up and add a few other little touches around the house.

Our first stop in Michigan is always Brad's parent's house.  We got in Tuesday evening, had Hungry Howies waiting for us (yum yum) and immediately got put to work the next morning!

Brad's little mother!  Isn't she cute!?

We got to my parent's house on Thursday and got to spend some time with some of my favorite people {and canines}.  Nothing like a little romping in the backyard to make for three tired dogs : )

Brad, Erica, Me and Brad {plus, Roscoe, Max and Moose)

It was Brad's idea to get Marshall a wine making kit...and he loved it!  If anyone, he'll be the one to carry on the Mucci wine making tradition : )

 

My dad was obviously very excited to finally get the Kitchen Aid mixer he's been wanting for years!  Here's to lots of homemade cinnamon rolls to come, Daddio!

Moose even got some goodies: pig ears, lots of treats and a big rawhide bone from my mom, that he's still working on : )

My men : )

To top off a great week in Michigan, we headed back to PA for my Mucci Family party that always takes place the day after Christmas.  Everyone always looks forward to this party where there's plenty of good Italian food {homemade Ravioli's, specifically} and lots of loudness and laughing.

As you all know, I was anxiously awaiting this year's party...



So fun!!

xoxo,
meghan