Week 19- Turkey week!!!

November 25th- So I talked with Dr. Molly yesterday and it was good to catch up some more. I am so proud of her for almost being done with her residency and becoming a Doctor. She keeps tabs on her future niece/nephew and asks how everything is going, which is so appreciated. Thanks Dr. Molly!!!

I also scheduled our childbirth class, newborn/take baby home class, and breast-feeding class yesterday as well. So that was nice to get those items done and one less thing to do! Jeremy isn't excited about attending the breast-feeding class as it might be uncomfortable for him to see another mom nurse with her baby, but its life! He said he would be fine with me, but watching someone else would be kinda weird.

I also signed up for the baby steps program that Notre Dame offers. I have to check-in with a nurse and she will check in with me during the pregnancy and answer any questions that I might have along the way. This is a great program that is offered by the University as its a great resource as well.

We are getting ready for Turkey day at Jeremy's parents house. We are taking a fried turkey over there (well Jeremy is going to cook it at their house) and I am making polish noodles and my parents are bringing shrimp. There could be up to 40 people at Thanksgiving dinner! How awesome is that. It will be sad as we won't have Grandma Swartz with us this year. It is the first holiday without her so I am sure there will be lots of tears and happy memories talked about. A positive thing to look forward to is next year our little one will be super excited and hopefully sitting up and maybe crawling around to people. I will have my hands full next year with a little one! thank goodness Jeremy will be a hands on dad and will jump right in to take care of little "Willis". I have a feeling though that Grammie and Grandma will have no problems watching their grandbaby. Well Pam will have her hands full too with her other grandbaby so my mom might have to be in charge of our little one and we can't leave Gramps and Grandpa out either...

So Riley is nesting with me too... she is starting to gather items around the house and make herself a little nest. It is really cute to watch as she has the motherly instinct in her. I will post some pictures once I get the pictures downloaded!

So I went shopping with Margie (our neighbor) on Black Friday. Her and I have done this for 3 years now. We departed the house at 3:30 in the morning and our first stop was Kohls.... then Meijer's.. then Target. We made a trip home to drop off stuff and then headed out to Grape road for the mall, Sam's Club, Babies R Us and then we ended at Olive Garden. We met up with Jeremy's mom, Aunt Julie and Aunt Lisa. They had just pretty much started there shopping day as we were ending ours. We got home around 1:ooish and we both took naps in the afternoon and relaxed the rest of the night. I was in bed at 8:00 that night!

November 29th-- Do I even want to mention this day... Notre Dame did not have a good game today and they haven't since I have been attending the games.... I wonder if that is a sign??? They won all the games that I was in attendance for this year, which isn't saying much.

I had to work on my research paper this weekend... which wasn't the best way to finish a holiday weekend, but I had to get it done.

Week 17 and 18-- My dad's birthday and doctor visit

Bobby on my lap/belly. He likes to lay on me whenever Russeau isn't around so we had to capture the picture. We are trying to get Bob to give kisses to the belly, but so far he just puts his paws on the belly. He loves the boobs though if you can tell. He is always climbing on them and putting his paws there.



This is a picture of me at 16 weeks. I can't believe how much of a little belly I have!! I love it!!! It's really starting to look like I am prego and not just gaining some weight!

Me at 10 weeks....
Me at 6 weeks...

So I am catching up this week as I did get a little behind on the blog. I am starting to show alot more with my clothes! My belly is sticking out and it is starting to look like I am prego instead of just gaining some weight. I will try to post some of the pictures so everyone can see the baby growing! (Debbie thanks for the idea) I have been using the pregnancy pillow that I received from Mary (she is letting me borrow hers) and then also Jeremy got me one as well. They are very comfy... I still have to get used to it though as my neck sometimes hurts because of a different position than what I am used to, but it does give my back support which is wonderful! I totally recommend for all prego ladies to get one. Here is the link

http://www.amazon.com/Leachco-Back-Belly-Contoured-Pillow/dp/B0002E7DIQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1223922771&sr=8-1

I usually leave the pillow on the bed in the morning and then cover it with our down comforter... we leave Bob out running around the house during the day and the twins are in the kitchen. We have come home to Bob curled up on our bed in between the pregnancy pillow so he is getting some use out of it as well. I will try to capture a picture of this because its pretty funny. Jeremy said that once we are done with the pillow we are going to have to figure out a way to get the pillow in Bob's home so he can enjoy it. Can you tell the Bob is daddy's favorite!

The baby is starting to move more and more... its funny because the baby was active in the morning after I finished breakfast, but now before I go to bed, the baby seems to be moving around more and more. It's not alot, but definitely more than a few weeks ago.

My favorite holiday snack just came out.... Chocolate Charlie and I am starting my little one off right. If I have some of this then I can down a huge glass of milk so it works for me, plus there are peanuts to give me protein in the candy as well. I just can't pass it up. I've already went through a whole box of it (which is so usual for me around this time). Jeremy knows that he isn't allowed to touch my box of Chocolate Charlie... its all mine!!!

So we received a phone call from Alex from Lanser's where we purchased our nursery furniture. Most of our pieces should be in January, however our tall dresser is not going to be available until February which will be fine with me. As long as its here before the baby, I am good to go with that!

I've talked with a few of my college friends this week who are on the east coast... Tina in Pittsburgh and Molly who is in New York doing her residency and she is currently in pediatrics. She is filling me in on what she has experienced and she got to perform a circumcision. She put me at ease with this procedure if we have a boy. I know that we will have our own personal doctor on hand for any questions! Thanks Dr. Molly!!!

So this leads to another funny story that Jeremy has preceded to tell me how I will be the minute I go into labor. I have a friend, Tony, who is a police officer and he patrols near where we live. When I was working late hours on the client service side, I would call him and he would follow me to the barrier of where he could and if he wasn't on a call to make sure I got home safe. So now the theory is that I will call Tony so we can have our own personal escort to the hospital. I am seriously thinking about this one... you all know me!

I am continuing to feel great...sometimes in the morning after I get ready I have to take a break because I over do it quickly so I am trying to learn to slow down just a little. I am tossing and turning at night because I want to make sure that I am sleeping on my side, but I constantly change positions so I am waking up alot. Also, it doesn't help that the twins are in bed with us and they are usually sleeping between my legs so its a challenge to move in the middle of the night. I find myself moving them, but they always find their way back to mommy. Sometimes they sleep closer with Jeremy, but lately its been all me!

Last weekend, we went to Lisa's house for spa night and it was relaxing and good to get out with the girls! Nothing like a warm neck wrap and warm socks!!! It was a ton of fun and looking forward to the next party!!!

November 21st- Today I had to do some shopping at Sam's Club for Aunt Joan and I asked Pam ( Jeremy's mom) if she wanted to do lunch since I was going to do the shopping on my lunch hour. We had lunch at Panera and she couldn't believe how big my belly had gotten since the last time she saw me. It was good for her and I to hang out alittle bit as it has been a very long time for that. She always touches the belly which is so wonderful and I am a firm believer that the baby can feel all the touches and all the love. It will be excited to see who the baby will respond to once I am further along.

November 22nd-24th== We had my college friend Pammy, her hubby Mike and their dog Lucy in town this weekend for the Notre Dame game. I didn't go to the game and doggie sat while watching the Notre Dame game. Adam went to the game with Jeremy which was nice for them because they haven't done anything in so long. I guess that is what marriage does to you over time. I remember the days when Adam would come over for dinner, but those days seem to be long gone now. Adam did bring me over a surprise which was a box of Chocolate Charlie when him and Elizabeth were shopping. So greatly appreciated as it is my favorite!!! It was great to hang out with Pam and Mike and see them during the pregnancy and for them to see me grow. They are so happy for us and it is so sweet of them.

November 23rd, we celebrated my dad's 60th birthday at my parents house with the family. It was great to see everyone and enjoy some family time. I will post the pictures once I can get them from my moms camera.

November 24th- We had our check-up at the doctor today and we invited my parents since it was my dads birthday today and what better gift to give him to hear his grandchild's heartbeat. The heartbeat was 155 so not as fast as last time, but still showing signs of a girl if you believe in the old wives tales. My measurement was a 20, which the doctor said is right where I should be. However, I need to watch the weight gain.... I am ok, but on the higher side right now. I have gained 12 pounds so far and will be 19 weeks tomorrow. The nurse said me sleeping on my stomach isn't a problem and that my body will let me know when I can't do it anymore.

Week 16- The nursery complete!!!

So this week started the feeling of the baby's movement. At least that is what I am believing it to be. It is almost in the morning after I finish eating that I can feel the baby move. I've been drinking OJ so I heard that the sugars will make the baby move. It's very faint and not every morning... just if my legs are up closer to the belly.

This week we have talked to Aunt Joan on our usual basis. She always checks in to see how her "little mama and baby" are doing. She is so sweet and cares so much about us. I just love her so much!!! If we have a girl, she will be learning all of Aunt Joan's baking secrets!

So on Thursday this week, Lisa and I went to the Taste of Poland at her church in Michigan City. It was good for the two of us to hang out like the good old days. I know those days are gonna be limited in the future. We saw her family there and her grandma has been praying for us. I almost cried when she told me because how wonderful and thoughtful of her to be praying for our family.

On Friday, I talked with my mom (Grammie)... actually I should say that my mom and I email everyday... she checks in with me and her grandbaby to see how we are doing. She cares so much and doesn't want to miss anything. So we talked Friday night and my mom received Teacher of the Year for Riley High School. She will be up for Corporation teacher of the year in the spring. This is her fourth nomination since she has been teaching!!! GO MOM and GRAMMIE!!! She is setting not only a wonderful example for me, but for her grandbaby. She is so successful and her work ethic is so strong... She is being rewarded for something that she loves to do! Good Luck!!!

On Saturday morning I had breakfast with my grandpa and dad at my grandpa's house. He touched my belly and was very happy about the next great-grandchild. He will be getting 2 great grandchildren next year that we know about right now. My cousin Pauline and me!

After breakfast, my parents came over and we went to pick out the nursery furniture at Lanser's. My dad hadn't seen the furniture so I made sure to take him so he could look things over and test out the crib to make sure that it met his safety standards. We purchased the crib, dresser, hutch, and a changing table to go on top of the hutch. We are still in the process of doing the research on the mattress we should get for the little one. So that will be the next purchase that we make to finalize the nursery on top of picking out a rocker so mama can breast feed. The furniture will be in about 6-8 weeks!!! We can't wait!! Once the furniture is in we will have to let it "breathe" for about 6-8 weeks before we do anything to do because of any chemicals that are used.

This week my upper back has been hurting a little bit and I am trying to determine if its the way I am sleeping. I am trying to sleep on my left side as much as possible right now so it will prepare me for later in pregnancy.