84 Days to go -- yikes!

Last week was by far the best week of my pregnancy so far. While I didn't feel great most of the week, I felt more connected than ever to that tiny baby growing in there.

Allen was out of town a few nights last week, which gave me and the baby a few quiet nights alone. He's been really active lately and I've found ways to play with him. Just talking to him or gently poking at my stomach is enough to get him spinning and kicking like crazy. It's too funny to watch my stomach shifting and contorting out of control.

In other news we got an early shower gift this week from Allen's mom -- the glider and ottoman! I love it and now the nursery feels complete. I've already sat in there a couple times rocking and talking to the baby, though I can't wait to rock with him in my arms.

Today I am 28 weeks pregnant. I can't get over how fast this pregnancy is going by. My goal is to really enjoy these final weeks with Allen before we become a family of three. I know our lives are going to change so much soon. While that's a very welcome change, it's just been the two of us for the last 6 years and I'm going to miss that, too. Allen is an amazing husband, partner and friend and I'm so lucky to share my life with him.

Nursery sneak peek!

After a lot of work (thanks Allen!) the nursery is mostly finished. We still have a few bare walls to tackle, but it's really coming together. I can't believe how real everything seems now! We're going to have a baby in just 13 weeks!!! Here's a sneak peek of the nursery.


Check out our "art" I was able to frame pictures from a calendar and saved a ton of $

It says "I'm Yertle the Turtle, oh marvelous me. For I am ruler of all that I see"


This one says "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

Bragging for a moment

It's December 1 and 90-95 percent of my Christmas shopping is finished (and most of it's wrapped) and my house is decorated. I have never been THIS organized before. I'm feeling so proud of myself. Of course my main motivation is that we have so much else to do this month in getting ready for the baby, but just for this moment I want to revel in the fact that I'm ahead of the game on something. This is all :)

24 Week Survey (a week late)

How far along? 24 weeks
Total weight gain: 13 pounds (yikes)
Maternity clothes? Are amazing
Stretch marks? No, but I figure it's only a matter or time.
Sleep: Is already becoming a little difficult. I wake up a lot throughout the night, but I can usually go back to sleep
Best moment this week: Allen felt the baby kick!
Movement: The baby has been super active and strong!
Food cravings: breakfast food, especially blueberry pancakes, and hot chocolate
Food aversions: I am past food aversions, which is apparent by my weight gain
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: No and I'd like to keep it that way
Belly Button: half in and half out
What I miss: Red wine
What I am looking forward to: Finishing the nursery and nesting
Weekly Wisdom: Don't pay too much attention to the numbers on the scale :)
Milestones: 24 weeks is the viability point -- basically if I were to go into labor now the baby would have a real chance of making it. However, I hope he continues to cook for anothe 16 weeks.

Where I've been

Wow, the last 5 weeks have been crazy busy. Yea, yea -- I know -- that's no excuse for not blogging. So here's an update on what we've been up to lately. Warning: It's not all that exciting, but I promise to try harder in the future :)

The nursery:
In the last five weeks we've ordered and received the bedding. Long story short, we weren't able to get the rocket bedding after all. Allen found the cutest Dr. Seuss set, though, and we love it.

We also bought the furniture, which was in stock and is just waiting to be picked up. Allen painted the room, and on Tuesday we'll have carpet installed. I'll post more pictures next week when all the furniture, drapes and some decorations are in.

More baby plans:
In addition to making space for the baby, we've been focused on finding a day care and registering. First, let me just say I can't believe how expensive day care is. It's insane. We have found a few good options, but nothing in confirmed yet. Of course, every time I think of sending our little boy to day care I tear up. I know it will be harder on me than him. I just hate thinking about someone else taking care of my sweetie.

As for registering -- OMG -- it is so overwhelming. Registering before the wedding was fun because I knew what we needed/wanted, but this is totally different. There are so many things we apparently need and, on top of that, there are SO MANY choices. I'm happy to say, though, that after hours of research, reading Baby Bargains, and shopping with my friend Heather (mother of two) we are finished.

While the last five weeks have been crazy busy and at times overwhelming, they've been great. It's so exciting planning for our little one and knowing that we're getting that much closer to having him in our arms. We feel so blessed and grateful for all the blessings in our lives.

What's in a name?

I’ve received a lot of questions about the baby’s name, so here’s a (not so) quick update.

According to my baby name book, we have at least 60,000 name options for our little one. Realistically, we probably wouldn’t pick a name that wasn’t on the top 500 names list, but that still leaves us with 500 names to choose from. Surely Allen and I could find the perfect name for Baby Savat, right?

Naming the baby is certainly the most difficult decision of the entire process because we have such different tastes. Here’s our name criteria: must be a fairly traditional/normal name; cannot be gender neutral (Allen’s rule); cannot be wimpy sounding (again, Allen’s rule and totally subjective); cannot be too popular (top 10 names were ruled out for that) but shouldn’t be a totally never-heard-of name either; and must sound good with Allen (not only is it my husband’s name, but it’s also my dad and grandpa’s name)

So far we have three potential names. They are:

Tyler or Ty for short: This is probably Allen’s favorite. It’s a strong, solid name and it sounds great with Allen, but it’s pretty popular. I also have a hard time imagining calling a baby Ty. It’s currently #27 on the Social Security Administration’s baby name list (down 6 spots from last year) and means “tile maker”.

Evan: Several years ago, Allen and I were at one of those vacation souvenir stores going through name key chains and joking about baby names when Allen saw the name Evan. It’s been on our short list ever since. Evan means “God is good/gracious.” It’s currently #38 on the SSA list (up two spots). In my opinion, Evan goes with Allen the least of the three names, but we still like it so it stays on the list.

Leo: This is definitely the most unpopular choice on the list, but I really like it. First, it has that rare combination of being a traditional yet uncommon name. Second, it’s my favorite great grandpa’s name. Leo means “lion,” which I think is pretty cool. It’s currently #227 on the SSA list (up 11 spots).

So there you have it. That’s the three names on our list. We have been calling him a different name each day in hopes that one will stick. We may very well still be deciding the day he’s born.

You’re welcome to vote on the names, but since this is not a democracy I can’t promise we’ll do anything with the results :)

Rocket baby

We bought the baby bedding!!! Yes, this sentence is worthy of three exclamation points because of what we went through to get it. The first thing I began to shop for when we found out we were expecting was bedding. Allen found this rocket collection that he just loved (rockets are way better than trains because train engineers are not real engineers, according to Allen). Overtime, the collection grew on me, too. I love the colors and I began imagining ways to decorate the nursery with this theme.

So of course, they discountinued the line. Isn't that what always happens? Well for the last week, since I found out we are expecting a boy, I have searched high and low for a set. I found ONE set on ebay and purchased it last night at a great price. We're still hoping to find the matching lamp and mobile, but if we don't that's OK. Here it is!