18 weeks~ My baby, the bell pepper

How far along are you?
18 weeks, 1 day ~~

*According to Babycenter:
Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin, and her ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from her head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place.

What symptoms are you experiencing?
~round ligament pain when I get up too quickly
~still tired all the time
~insomnia
~gassy --blech!
~amorous hee hee

How are you feeling?
~Overall I feel pretty good, just the insomnia is killing me!! I can't fall asleep and then when I finally do, I'm up peeing a billion times and/or just waking up and looking at the clock. I am finally not so moody this week and back to myself though, so that's a plus! :)

Any Dr. appointments/ultrasounds/tests this past week and how did they go?
~Nothing until next week

Anything big happening in your personal life (moving, work related, family, etc.)?
~I have a new baby cousin born yesterday!
~Packing to move

Any fears or hopes you want to get off your chest?
~I still have that miscarriage fear --more cautiousness than anything. I guess it never goes away. :(

Any belly pics or ultrasound photos from this week?

Any food cravings?
~water
~steak
~oranges

Tell us your favorite thing about your pregnancy this week.
~Feeling more baby movement!

What has been the most surprising thing about this pregnancy?
~The amount of physical uncomfortableness that I am experiencing versus my 1st pregnancy ...round ligament pain, sore legs and feet. I'm old. haha

Random Question of the Week:
Have you found out the sex of the baby yet? If yes, what are you having and what was your first reaction, (happy, over the moon, shocked, disappointed etc)? If no, do you plan to find out the sex and do you have a preference?
~We found out we're having a girl about 6 weeks ago with our CVS results and we are both thrilled! We honestly didn't have a feeling either way --boy or girl-- so our only "insight" was a dream I had around 8 weeks, that it was a girl. :)  I think part of G was hoping for a boy and part of me was hoping for a boy for him, as he's an only child. But, after everything we had been through with our miscarriage and our genetic testing, we TRULY didn't care either way and were so excited to find out she was healthy. Her health we learned first, THEN we learned she was a girl.  (I also dreamed what we named her in that dream and we both love it.)

Getting to Know You

I have been reading "Getting to Know You" for a couple weeks  on http://www.mannland5.com/ and decided to participate this week. :)

She's got a great blog--check it out!


1. What's your favorite Easter candy?

Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. I love them so much! It used to be just an Easter treasure and now the clever Reese's people decided that I needed pumpkins, Christmas trees and hearts too.

2. Who do you think is cleaner..men or women?

I think this is a tough one. Either one. I happened to be engaged to a germ-conscious man who is very particular about cleanliness, but a lot of men I know are just gross. But a lot of women too. So, I'll say it depends. :)

3. Which do you prefer..wordy blog posts or ones with pictures?

I love both! I love to read and I seriously have a picture obsession, so I love to look at pictures too.

4. Were you popular in highschool?

As part of the cliche' "popular" crowd, I'll say no. But, I had friends of all groups and most people knew who I was. I was comfortable in my marching band geek crowd, dated a football player and loved the academic groups too. Yes, I'm a nerd and I'm proud of it!

5. What's your bra size?

Ugh! I'm typically a 36C, but this pregnancy has moved me to somewhere between a 36D and 36DD, which is far too much for me!

6. How many states have you lived in?

I have lived in 3 states in my 36  almost 37 years. Born in Pennsylvania, then moved to Arizona, then to Tennessee, back to Arizona and back to Pennsylvania. 

7. What's one blog you read every day?

I lovelovelove reading blogs and I typically check them everyday. I have just discovered some new ones and have begun following them, so I'm trying to catch up on those these days. Check my friends list on the side. :)

8. Peanut butter or Nutella?

Peanut butter...creamy.

Crib Bedding and Paint *paint added

I finally made a decision! 

(And this is my first post on my brand new red laptop!! I'm very excited about this new present!!!)

Well, I should probably accurately say WE made a decision!

As y'all know, I was torn between the 2 bedding choices. I fell in love with the ladybug set...the daisies in it, the colors and the red. Lord knows I love my red and having red Gerbera daisies in this baby's room and decor is something that is important to me.  So, I had pretty much decided for certain on the ladybug, then I decided to check just ONE more place and discovered the daisy pattern and ugh I was back in a decision making process once again. 

I showed G the pictures and left him to look and think about it.  Honestly, he just wants me to be happy and his only request was "not pink and brown". I LOVE LOVE LOVE pink and brown together, which he knows! Funny enough though, I just didn't feel that for this baby.

Knowing I would really be happy with either choice, I wanted him to tell me his thoughts. He loved the ladybug pattern for all the pieces I want to do with the window box, the gerbera daisies and he thought the daisy pattern was very 70's looking and he didn't love it because of that.  I can see that, although that's part of its charm for me. :)

Final decision:

This isn't the best picture for how the colors look, but since I ordered it Friday and ALREADY got it, I can assure you it is exactly what I wanted! I'm so excited!  The color that doesn't show the most accurately is the green in it.

We went to Home Depot this past weekend to pick out paint and we both liked the same color green! We're so in sync and I love it.
http://www.behr.com/colorsmart4/colorsmart/main.jsp
If you click on this link, it will take you to the paint color specifically. We loved that it is called "Happy Camper"!

Decision made and we're both completely happy with it and love it!  We can't wait to get started and get her room set up! Window box construction to commence soon.

We've also decided on her name...
but that's for another day. ;)




*** Edited to add the paint color: (we don't do pastel :) )