17-week survey

Weekly Survey:

How far along? 17 weeks

Total weight gain: +7.8lbs (135.8lbs)

How big is baby?: The size of an onion.

Sleep?: Good except for some weird dreams. I still try to nap when I get the chance.

How are you feeling physically? Ok for the most part, but I’ve had some uncomfortable days this week. I still have a lot of round ligament pain and earlier this week I had a lot of pressure and a feeling like I was going to drop the poor kid right out.

How are you feeling emotionally?: Aside from the stress of planning a birthday party (or 2) for my little munchkin, pretty good.

Best moment this week?: Clara’s 1st birthday (Nov 2)!! I can’t believe our little baby is going to be 1!

Movement?: Yes! I can for sure say that I’ve felt it. It hasn’t been strong or consistent but I’ve definitely noticed some!

What has baby been up to this week?: Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.
Food cravings?: Nope.

Labor signs?: Too early, thankfully!

What I miss: Having as much physical ability to handle Clara as I used to.

What I'm looking forward to: We have an appointment today with Dr. V and then I’m just looking forward to Clara’s birthday on Wednesday, her pictures on Thursday, and her parties on Saturday and Sunday! What a busy week!

Random Thoughts: Not too many this week-I’m too busy planning parties!

17 week bump pic

11-month Survey

Almost missed it again this month! Too much birthday party planning, I guess!

Monthly Survey

1. How old is baby? 11 months, 4 weeks, 1 day

2. Stats:

• a. Weight: around 25lbs.
• b. Height: about 30-31 inches.
• c. Clothes size: Pretty much 12 months or larger exclusively. Pants and pajamas are 12 or 18 months depending on brand.
• d. Diaper size: Huggies size 4 for both regular and Overnights.
• e. Hair color: Still blonde, though it looks a little reddish sometimes.

• f. Anything else? She has her 12-month well-baby check-up on 11/9.

3. Milestones:

• a. Teething: She has 8 teeth total. I felt the top of one molar come through the skin, the rest are still under, but coming through soon!
• b. Talking: She constantly babbles and likes it when we repeat back what she said.
• c. Rolling: Yes, but not as a mode of transport. Mostly as a form of play.
• d. Walking: EVERYWHERE! She even likes it when she can walk while we’re out visiting places like the store or the zoo.
• e. Crawling: Sometimes, but not as much.
• f. Anything else? She now stands up on her own in the middle of the room. She also breaks into dance sometimes when she hears music. We might be buying Happy Feet 2 for just that reason!!

4. Things she likes:

• a. Toys: She’s starting to get into more complex toys, like putting the coins in her piggy bank and playing with her nesting cups. But mostly she just likes to walk around.
• b. Books: We want to start reading to her and the “bimb” every night before bed. We read to her when she was an inside baby so we’d like her to join in when we read to the new baby.
• c. Songs: She just likes music in general.
• d. TV Shows: Same shows.
• e. Other activities: She LOVES looking at pictures and has figured out that cell phones have lots of pictures on them. She gets angry if you’re using a cell phone and NOT showing her pictures!

5. Things she dislikes: Not being allowed to walk, taking naps, and being told ‘no.’

6. Sleeping: At night is still good. She is now officially down to 1 nap per day, though it varies for time (either in the morning or afternoon, but not consistently either).

7. Eating: She had Spaghettios for the first time the other day and liked it. It won’t be an everyday meal, but it’s nice and quick if we need it to be.

• a. Favorite foods: Oatmeal & fruit for breakfast, any kind of bread, brats, and veggies.
• b. Not so favorite foods: regular potatoes

8. Nicknames: Nothing new this month.

9. Things we’re looking forward to next month: HER 1-YEAR BIRTHDAY! She is having both of her birthday parties and her 1-year photo shoot with Katie (Nov 3), and her first visit to the dentist (she’ll be sitting on my lap watching while I get my teeth cleaned). She’ll also have her second Thanksgiving and we’ll be finding out for sure if she’ll have a little brother or a little sister. Lots to look forward to next month!

10. How I like motherhood: I love it. It’s hard but the rewards are so awesome. She makes me laugh every day.

• a. Likes: Getting her out of bed in the morning. She always has the biggest smile and a wave for me. :) Also, when I come home from work. She squeals with delight and rushes over to greet me.
• b. Dislikes: Being tired or cranky from being pregnant.

Toddle Along Tuesday-Milestones

I've had a lot of major milestones in my life in the last couple of years:

Buying my first house

Getting married

Turning 30

Having my first baby

One thing I’ve learned about milestones is that they can be big or small. The important thing to remember about milestones is that they’re not necessarily big things. They can be small things like paying off loans or credit cards, having perfect attendance at work or school, or even passing a test. Milestones are what you make them and if you’re the only person they’re important to, then that’s fine, too.


I look forward to having many more small and large milestones in my life and celebrating them with those who are closest to me.

And, since I just wrote about Clara walking in one of my previous posts, I thought I'd finally post pictures of her first hair cut (which only ended up being a bang trim anyway). It's a milestone for her, anyway. :)

Before:

During:

After:

(It's the only "after" picture I had on the computer!)



16-week survey

Weekly Survey:

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain: +5.8lbs (133.8lbs)

How big is baby?: The size of an avocado.

Sleep?: Still hit and miss. I’ve had an opportunity on occasion to take naps which helps, but not enough.

How are you feeling physically? Ok, but not great. I’ve had a lot of sciatica and right hip pain and the round ligament pains are terrible this time around.

How are you feeling emotionally?: Pretty good. I have bad days, but most of them are good.

Best moment this week?: On Friday I had a massage which was awesome! I’m looking forward to tonight when we’re taking Clara for Halloween pictures with Katie.

Movement?: I thought I might have felt a little something last night, but I’m still not 100% convinced.

What has baby been up to this week?: Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender.
Food cravings?: MILK!! Still. :) Other than that, nothing, really.

Labor signs?: Nope, still too early.

What I miss: Getting good sleep at night and having any kind of energy.

What I'm looking forward to: Next week is our next OB appointment and Clara’s 1st birthday!

Random Thoughts: Nothing too much this week, though I did realize that in about a month I’ll be halfway through this pregnancy already! Yikes!

16 week bump pic

Citizen's Academy-Week 8: Police Department (and some other ramblings)

Last night we spent our final night with the Police Department. This week we covered high-risk traffic stops and crime scene investigation.

Both were extremely informative and the activities we participated in, including investigating our own crime scene and controlling a high-risk traffic stop, were really fun.

Next week we will be with City Finance (which I'm sure will be boring for me considering I HATE anything having to do with numbers) and then week 10 we will be having a mock "government" day. I'm not sure what is all involved in that, but we'll find out. Those are the last 2 weeks of class!

November 8th we'll be having a "graduation" and appreciation dinner. I'm looking forward to it, but I also need to make sure I don't stay too late...the last couple weeks have about wiped me out. I NEED TO GET SOME GOOD SLEEP!!!!

Normally, I'd have made this longer, but it's cold and wet outside and I'm exhausted. I look forward to being done with work for the day (2 more hours thankfully), going to the Chiropractor and then GOING TO BED (at least for a little while). One more day of work tomorrow and then I'll have Friday off.

I'm finally using the Groupon that Adam got me for our anniversary to go get a Prenatal Massage at Elite Spa in Green Bay. After that, I'm getting together with my sister-in-law to do some shopping and have lunch. THEN, for supper, we're picking up Adam's grandpa and going out to dinner. I'm sure I'll be ready to crash when I get home finally!! I really am looking forward to it, though. :)

Toddle Along Tuesday-FAIL!

Again, I’ve decided to join along the blog hop with Mama G at Growing up Geeky. This week’s topic is “FAIL!” It can be a Mommy fail, pregnancy brain or just something dumb we’ve done recently.

I can’t remember having a huge FAIL moment lately but I’ve had lots of little ones!

• Remembered to put a bottle with water in it in the diaper bag but forgot the formula
• Remembered to put some shirts in the diaper bag, but forgot a change of pants.
• Putting the water and the fresh coffee grounds/filter in the coffee maker but forgetting to empty the carafe (which resulted in the Great Coffee Spill of 2011).
• And this morning, forgetting to put gas in my vehicle over the weekend and getting in this morning (while running late) and seeing the gas light come on.

I know some of this is pregnancy brain, but some of it is just me having a terrible memory and/or having my mind be occupied elsewhere. Remember Dory from Finding Nemo? That’s me. People actually used to call me that. *sigh* It’s ok, I’ve resigned myself to it. :)

I remember the morning we got up to go to the hospital when I was induced with Clara. Whenever I’m home I always make Adam’s coffee (I don’t drink coffee, but always make it for him), so it really wasn’t any different that morning. Well apparently I wasn’t quite awake yet when I made it because after pouring himself a cup, he looked at it and said it looked a little funny. Turns out, I forgot to put grounds in it…AT ALL. Oops. Hope you enjoyed your hot water, honey! Lol I felt like a moron, but my mind really was somewhere else.

Little did I know 8 hours later my little girl would be born!

15 Week Survey

Weekly Survey:

How far along? 15 weeks!

Total weight gain: +3.4lbs (131.4lbs)

How big is baby?: The size of a naval orange.

Sleep?: Meh. It’s ok most of the time. Some nights are still better than others.

How are you feeling physically? Aside from everyday pregnancy aches & pains, I’m feeling ok.

How are you feeling emotionally?: Short-tempered, but mostly ok.

Best moment this week?: Um, once again, I don’t really have one. I guess going to 8-hour days at work and having the weekends off now.

Movement?: I thought I felt some flutters, but I can’t be sure. I hope so!!

What has baby been up to this week? Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now out measure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.

Food cravings?: Milk, milk and milk. Oh, and did I mention milk??? Can't get enough of it lately!

Labor signs?: Nope, too early.

What I miss: ENERGY! I’m quite tired!

What I'm looking forward to: I’m getting a massage on Friday and going out to eat and shopping with Jessica, then Adam and I are having dinner with Grandpa. We finally get to tell him the big news!

Random Thoughts: We looked into nursery storage ideas this weekend. I’m starting to get excited, but I’m still having a hard time getting connected with this little one…mostly because Clara is so time consuming (in a good way, of course!).

Huh. 15 weeks doesn't look much different from 14.

Oh well. :)

Citizen's Academy-Week 7: Police Department

This past Tuesday was Week 7 with the Citizen's Academy and we again spent it with the Police department. The topics we covered were Domestic Violence and Building Searches/Room Clearing.

We again split into 2 groups.

My group went to do Building Searches/Room Clearing first. Officer Raatz, as well as his two Explorer cadets helped us out. They showed us how they search buildings for perpetrators and taught us a lot about SWAT tactics and search techniques.

Once we were finished with that, we met up with Lt Mohr and a representative from the Domestic Violence Center. They gave us lots of information on what qualifies as domestic violence, the formalities behind arrest and prosecution of domestic violence, and a lot of resources for those who are victims of domestic violence. At the end of our information session, we got to participate in a domestic violence-related scenario with Officer Greene and a female administrator who were role-playing a couple who had been arguing. We, as the officers, had to interview the suspects and determine who would be arrested/how the story actually played out before the police were called.

It was extremely informational as well as eye-opening.

Next week we'll once again be with the police department. It will be our last week with the police department before moving on.

Toddle Along Tuesday-Toddling!

I decided this week to jump along with Toddle Along Tuesday with Mama G at Growing Up Geeky. The topic this week is “Something you love about your kid(s).”


The newest thing I love about my kid is that she’s now officially a toddler! She loves to walk. She doesn’t even need a place to go-she just loves to walk all over the place. One of the most shocking things to me is that she’s only been walking for a little over 2 weeks and already she’s a pro! She can even walk with shoes on! We’ve been putting socks and shoes on here whenever we go out someplace so that she can walk around if she wants to without getting her feet dirty. Normally, this girl HATES wearing socks or shoes and usually has them off of her feet before we’ve even backed out of the driveway. I wonder if she understands that if she leaves them on, we’ll let her down to walk?



Maybe!



Here’s a picture of her standing…I had to be quick with the camera-I set her down to take a picture and she wanted to run after me!

14 week survey

Weekly Survey:

How far along? 14 weeks

Total weight gain: +3.2lbs (131.2)

How big is baby?: The size of a lemon.

Sleep?: Some good nights, some not.

How are you feeling physically? Pretty good, considering. The round ligament pains (RLP) are kicking my butt, though.

How are you feeling emotionally?: Stressed-having to deal with my car getting fixed and dealing with some pet issues.

Best moment this week?: Don't really have one this week. I'm mostly looking forward to next weekend so that I have 3 days off. :)

Movement?: Not yet. :(
What has baby been up to this week?: Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth.


Food cravings?: Healthy stuff like fruits and milk, though the occasional junk food craving does still crop up.

Labor signs?: Nope, too early.

What I miss: Getting a good night's sleep and doing my normal work duties.

What I'm looking forward to: Right now? Going to bed! lol

Random Thoughts: Not too many this week. I've been thinking about how I'm going to organize the nursery, though. I have some ideas, but we'll have to see how it goes.
 

14 week bump pic

Citizen's Academy Week 6-Police Department

This week was our first week with the Police Department.

We met in Manitowoc at the Sheriff's Department-reason being is because the Sheriff's Department has a range and we would be shooting guns (insert *squee* here). I had contacted our "guy in charge" to see if we would be allowed to bring our own weapon or if we had to use the ones provided. I was told to bring it along and we'd find out...so I did. Of course, I was slightly embarassed because when I pulled it out of the case it was slightly rusty. Oops!

We started the evening by going over what we'd cover and then splitting into 2 groups. One group would be on the firing range and the other would be learning about DAAT (Defense And Arrest Tactics) and some of the equipment that the police use in their everyday work. Luckily, I was in the group who went to the firing range first.

At the firing range, we learned all about range and firearm safety as well as the rules regarding and when it's appropriate to use deadly force, according to the State of Wisconsin. And then came the fun stuff. :) There were 4 people in my group: 2 of us had shot guns before and 2 hadn't so we split ourselves up so that there would be one experienced in each group (though it didn't matter much since there was plenty of help). I shot a rather nice grouping, even if they were all to the left. We got our pictures taken with our targets and even got to take them home.

When we were done, we took a little break for water and cookies (another *squee*) and then switched groups. It wasn't so much of a learning experience for me to hear all about defense and arrest tactics, since we cover them at my job as well, but it was fun listening to the 23-year veteran tell "war" stories. We also got to use their "simunition" pistols (basically their duty weapon fashioned so that it will shoot a round that has a paint-tipped bullet) to take down a bad guy. That was pretty fun. :)

The night ended early, which was fine. Next week, it sounds like we'll be doing some different scenarios which should be rather fun.

13 week survey

Weekly Survey:

How far along? 13 weeks

Total weight gain: +2.4lbs (130.4lbs)

How big is baby?: The size of a peach.

Sleep?: I have a bit of a cold, so not too great. I do end up getting around 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep but anything after that is broken.

How are you feeling physically? Large, despite my lack of weight gain. My back is also bothering me, but I've started up with the chiropractor again so hopefully that helps.

How are you feeling emotionally?: Pretty good. I was a little stressed about work but now that the situation is resolved I'm feeling better.

Best moment this week?: Apple picking today with Clara, Adam, and Grammy and Grandpa. It was fun, but we're all exhausted! We had our NT scan last week and got to see our little peanut. Everything looked great AND we got a good guess at the gender-A BOY!

Movement?: Nope, too early...though I may feel something sooner this time. Of course, the opposite could also be true. :)

What has baby been up to this week?: Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)

Food cravings?: None, really. Although I did have a short but intense craving for DQ which I rectified immediately. :)

Labor signs?: Nope, also too early.

What I miss: Um, the energy I used to have and my back not hurting.

What I'm looking forward to: Thursday is the official start of the 2nd trimester!

Random Thoughts: I can't believe we might be having a boy! I've spent the last 11 months taking care of a girl. I'm not really sure what to do with a boy! lol

13-week bump pic