I took my weekly photo a day early this week, as I was dressed nicely today. There’s very little chance that I’ll be out of gym shorts tomorrow. :)
So, we’ve made it to week 24! It’s a bit milestone in all of the pregnancy books because it’s considered the week of viability. In other words, if baby was (GOD FORBID) born now, he or she would at least have a chance at survival. Obviously, we want our little one to stay in there and continue to grow for many more weeks, but 24 weeks still feels nice to reach.
This weekend has been a weekend of preparing for baby. Yesterday morning, we went to Babies ‘R’ Us to get a shower gift for my cousin, but while we were there, we also found a glider/ottoman set that we liked so we ordered it. We hadn’t planned on doing that yet, but once we decided on it, we figured, why not? We’re trying to knock off the big baby purchases early! Then, we rode over to Buy Buy Baby to order the baby’s car seat. It’s actually a gift from my mom, but since we were going to be out there, she asked if we would mind stopping by the store to order it ourselves. So that’ll be arriving at our house soon, too.
When we got home, we cleaned out our big walk-in closet in our bedroom. We sorted out old clothes, reorganized everything we’re keeping, and then sifted through all of the other things we store in there to make as much room as possible to move things in from the den closet. (The den will become the nursery.)
Today, we cleaned out the den closet, and got rid of a bunch more things. We also went through these two big storage bins we have underneath our bed to clear more space in those, too. We’re in pretty good shape! We’re hoping to get new carpet installed throughout our house sometime within the next several weeks, so we’re waiting to officially clear out the den until we’re preparing for the new carpet. After that, we’ll officially start the nursery!
We have our 24 week appointment on Thursday this week. We are starting to feel the crunch about signing up for classes, finding a pediatrician, etc. so we plan to buckle down and figure out all of that stuff with our doctor during this appointment. The baby’s due date still seems so far off in so many ways, but on the other hand, we know it’ll be here in the blink of an eye.
Baby is about the length of an ear of corn now, and weighs over a pound. This week is apparently pretty big in terms of lung development (I’m guessing that is part of the whole “viability” milestone), his or her brain is growing at a rapid rate, and taste buds continue to form.
I’ve been feeling lots of movement this week. I don’t think it will ever get old–I continue to be amazed by the kicks and the way my belly moves right along with him/her. I’ve also been getting the kicks to the bladder the last couple of weeks. The only reason I know he/she is kicking my bladder is because I’ll suddenly get this OHMYGODIHAVETOPEE feeling, but it’s only for a split second. Thanks, baby! I love lying in bed with Michael at night and just feeling the baby do its thing in there. Michael’s been able to feel it pretty frequently these days, too. *LOVE*
At work last week, a random coworker (whom I had not told I’m pregnant) asked me when I’m due when I ran into her in the mailroom. I wasn’t sure whether to count that as my first stranger comment or not–it’s possible she got wind of my pregnancy through the grapevine. For that reason, I’m not REALLY counting it. I’m still waiting for the day I get a comment at the grocery store or something! What the heck, people must just think I’m loading up on the ice cream these days. C’MON, STRANGERS! Get with the program. :)
With the warm weather and the holiday weekend, I figured it was about time we break out the ice cream maker for the season. At first, I planned to make a strawberry sorbet I made last year and loved. But since we’re going to my in-laws’ for a BBQ tomorrow, and they love lemon, I decided to give a strawberry lemon sorbet a try. I’ve had this recipe marked since last summer, so it was about time!
The flavor is a striking balance between sweet and tart, and it’s really refreshing. My only (minor) complaint about it is the consistency–because you puree an ENTIRE lemon as one of the ingredients, the resulting sorbet is a teensy bit pulpy. As someone who cannot stand pulp in orange juice, it’s a little off-putting for me. Still, it’s not enough to keep me from eating it! I would just prefer a smoother consistency.
Strawberries are in season and on sale these days, so it’s a perfect time to buy a ton of strawberries! We’ve been going through at least a couple of pounds a week. I love summer fruit!
Strawberry Lemon Sorbet
(Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles)
Ingredients:
– 1 lemon, seeded and roughly chopped
– 2 cups sugar
– 2 pounds strawberries, hulled
– Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
– 2 tsp. rum or vodka (to prevent it from freezing too solid!)
Directions:
1. Place the chopped lemon and sugar in a food processor, and pulse until combined. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Puree the strawberries in a food processor, and add to the lemon mixture, along with the juice of 1 lemon. Taste and add more juice as desired. The lemon flavor should be intense but should not overpower the strawberries. Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and churn until frozen.
First things first–Which of you do I have to blame for recommending this book to a pregnant woman? BAD NEWS, my friends. I read this book on our trip to Florida, and spent the majority of our flight home choking back sobs and trying to hide my steadily falling tears. I guess I should be grateful I was in the window seat! So yeah, whoever you are (I know there were a few of you)… THANKS A LOT! ;)
Firefly Lane is the story of lifelong friendship. Two young girls–Kate, an introverted outcast at school, and Tully, a beautiful, social butterfly–cross paths when Tully moves in across the street from Kate in 1974. Both girls (who are 14 years old) have something missing in their lives that they are looking to fill–and they find something special in each other.
The book spans a 30-year time period, during which we witness the ebbs and flows of Kate and Tully’s relationship. Their friendship is far from perfect–Tully takes and takes and takes, rather selfishly, and as a reader, it can be frustrating at times. I sometimes found myself wondering why Kate put up with any of it, as she was a much better friend to Tully than Tully ever was to her. However, I came to realize that this is true of so many real-life relationships. As outsiders, we often look at relationships and can’t understand how they work… but somehow, they do.
Tully’s goal in life is to be rich, successful, and famous, and she is tremendously driven when it comes to her career. In contrast, Kate graduates college without the same fire in her belly–what Kate longs for is to find true love, get married, and raise a family. Through the turns of the pages, we follow Tully through her professional victories and Kate through her journey to love. And their friendship withstands it all. Eventually, however, their relationship is put to the test. Will it survive?
The book is long, but engaging. I had no problem starting and finishing this book on our vacation, and I really looked forward to getting out to the pool to read it every day. Although I have many close friends in my life, I don’t have a “BFF” (besides my mom!) like Tully and Kate are to each other. As someone who doesn’t have a relationship like that, I found it fascinating and touching to read about one. I think a lot of us long for that kind of a deep connection with a friend.
All in all, this is a beautifully written novel and I highly recommend it as an addition to your summer reading lists!
When you ask questions, I really try my best to answer them. Someone mentioned they were interested in knowing when and how I told my boss about my pregnancy, and well, here we go!
Of course, my situation is a little different than most, as I switched jobs at the end of my first trimester. So I didn’t just have the privilege of breaking the news to one boss, I had to do it twice.
When we first got the positive pregnancy test, our plan was to tell people at work when we told everyone else–at 12-13 weeks, when the first trimester was safely behind us. However, when I was seven weeks pregnant, I went to the bathroom one morning at work and found that I was bleeding pretty significantly. I went back to my desk, messaged Michael, and proceeded to start completely freaking out. I closed my office door to call the doctor’s office, shaking with terror, and I could no longer hold back the tears. After talking to the nurse and having her tell me to come in for an ultrasound, I could not calm down–plus, I was going to need to leave in the middle of the morning for the appointment–so I knew then that I would not be able to hide my pregnancy anymore… at least not from my boss.
I ended up going into her office, sobbing, and closed the door behind me. I sat down and told her I had something to tell her, and broke the news that I’m pregnant–followed by the news that I was bleeding and wasn’t sure if I was losing my baby. It was a lot for the poor woman to handle, but she congratulated me on the pregnancy and wished me the best for the ultrasound. After we saw the beautiful heartbeat and were somewhat reassured that things were going to be OK, I was advised to lie with my feet up for the rest of the afternoon.
When I returned to work the next morning, I was able to sit down with my boss again, calmly and with a smile, and give her the update. It was a much more lighthearted talk, that’s for sure! I asked her to please keep the pregnancy under wraps from my other coworkers until after the first trimester, and she was understanding. So even though things didn’t go according to plan, and I was essentially forced into telling my boss earlier than I had wanted, things worked out. And it was actually nice having her know, because on the days when I felt like crap and was extra tired, it was good to have someone at work who understood why.
Fast-forward a few weeks and I got the offer for the new job. I was about nine weeks pregnant, and again, hadn’t planned on telling anyone else. I knew that I wasn’t required to say anything to anybody, and that by law, they couldn’t discriminate against me for my pregnancy. Still, I was nervous about saying something, but felt it was wrong to hold out on my new boss, too. I didn’t want to go into the new job with a secret. Since my potential start date was right around the beginning of my second trimester, I felt that I would have to tell within a few weeks of starting the job, and I just did not want to start off on the wrong foot.
When I went in for my final meeting/interview, I was offered the job on the spot. I wasn’t prepared to tell him about my pregnancy at that moment, so I bought myself a little time by saying I wanted to talk to my husband before formally accepting the offer. The next day, after I felt like I had some time to properly prepare myself, I decided that when I called to accept the job, I’d also spill the beans. In order to protect myself, I waited until after the official offer letter had come in, then called to talk to my new boss.
I started off by telling him that I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with them and that I was really looking forward to it. Then I dropped the bomb, “…but I have something I need to tell you first.” I think he probably imagined all of these horrible things, because when I said, “I’m pregnant,” he immediately responded, “Oh, but that’s good news!” He proceeded to ask when the baby was due, and the only thing he wanted to be reassured about was whether I was actually planning on coming back to work. When I told him it wasn’t an option for me NOT to work, he was completely supportive of everything. He told me that maternity leave wouldn’t be an issue and we small-talked about his children. He even told me that I should try to hold out to go a few days late so I’d have a Libra baby. :)
Needless to say, my situation has not been typical. But I’ve definitely been lucky in that BOTH bosses were great about it and have been genuinely happy for me.
If there is anything to be taken away from my experience, I think the “lesson” is that you need to do what is right for you and your situation. If things had been uneventful and gone as planned, I really think I would’ve held out until 12+ weeks. But the way things worked out was fine, too. If you’re sick as a dog during your first trimester, it may not be feasible to wait to tell, as you’ll need the understanding and support from your boss to get you through. On the other hand, I’ve heard of women who have their own reasons not to tell until they really start to show, which in some cases, is 20 weeks or more.
The other thing to consider is the relationship with your boss. I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve always had good relationships with bosses–in every job that I’ve ever had, going back to when I worked at McDonald’s when I was 15 years old. If your boss is any kind of a friend, I’d imagine you’d feel comfortable telling sooner rather than later. If your boss is an asshole, well, maybe you’re one of the women who wait as long as possible to tell.
Oh, and as for coworkers–at my old job, I worked in a pretty small department, but I still waited until I was really close to the 12-week mark before I told anybody besides my boss. At my new job, all of my immediate coworkers (the ones I work with directly) were told right away, but there are still a lot of them who are just now discovering my pregnancy, or some who still don’t know. It’s not that it’s a secret; it’s just that, unless it comes up in conversation, it’s sort of an awkward thing to tell someone you don’t know very well. I figure that sooner or later (probably sooner, now that I’m really starting to show!), everyone who doesn’t know will certainly figure it out!
P.S. One year ago today, I witnessed my nephew’s entrance into the world. It continues to be one of my most treasured moments in life, and I will hold onto it forever. I love you, Hunter, and Happy Birthday! xoxo
I swear to the good lord… every day I wake up, I feel like I am bigger than the day before. I wonder if I’ll be feeling like this for the rest of the pregnancy. I’m almost getting to the point where I’m afraid to weigh myself from week to week. HA!
This past weekend, at Hunter’s birthday party, I saw a lot of family members that I haven’t seen since I found out I’m pregnant, so that was pretty funny. Of course, everyone always tells you that you look great. What else are they going to say, though? They could be lying liars. ;)
23 Weeks Pregnant
We’re experiencing a bit of a heatwave this week, and I’m interested to see if I experience swelling. I think whatever happens this week could be indicative of how I handle the rest of the summer, so I’m hoping it’s without incident! Although, the past few days, I’ve noticed that when we go on our long walks, my wedding rings are REALLY difficult to get off when we get back. Ouch! But they seem to continue to fit fine the rest of the time, so I’m not worried about them yet. I might just have to get in the habit of taking them off when I exercise!
Yesterday, we went and picked up the crib at JCPenney. Michael and I attempted to pick everything up about a week or so ago, but when we got there, we realized that the crib box was exceptionally large, and there was no way it was going to fit into our small SUV. At the time, we took the dresser and the convertible rails, but had to leave the crib.
So, this morning, my lovely, super-awesome “little” brother met us there to get the crib with his truck. The problem was that we showed up at 10:20 to find out that the store didn’t open until 11:00. WHOOPS. Thankfully, my lovely, super-awesome “little” brother was very cool about it and we were able to kill a little bit of time at a nearby store, then go back to JCPenney to get in right when it opened. Crisis averted; mission accomplished.
Now, I’m dying to get the room cleared out and painted so we can move the furniture in and, you know, actually take it out of the box. It’s killing me to not have even had a chance to look at it yet! Soon enough, though.
Completely switching gears… you know what’s fun? Trying to order a bridesmaid dress to wear when you’re going to be approximately 3-4 weeks post-partum. Yeeaaah. My due date it 9/19, and my brother is getting married on 10/16. I can’t imagine NOT being in the wedding, so… I’m in the wedding. And I’m really not worried about anything, but the ordering a dress thing? It’s been a huge pain in the ass. Reason being that I have absolutely no idea what size I’m going to be at that time.
Today, we went to the bridal shop to “get sized” (which is kind of a joke for me at this point), and check out the options for my sizing. We put a measuring tape around me to get an idea for where I’m at right now, and well–fellow pregnant ladies, I DO NOT RECOMMEND. Actually, hips were the same and my waist really isn’t that bad, but ohmygod, MY BOOBS. People, my boobs are already up four inches. FOUR INCHES! To accommodate my chest, which is surely only going to get bigger thanks to breastfeeding, I’m going to need to order a dress that is 4-5 sizes bigger than what I normally wear. FOUR TO FIVE SIZES BIGGER, I said. JUST FOR MY BOOBS. *sigh* Alterations should be loads of fun. As should trying to find a strapless bra that doesn’t make me want to kill myself.
Adventures. These things… they’re adventures. :)
In baby news… baby now weighs over a pound (yay!) and is approximately the size of a mango. One of my week-by-week e-mails told me that baby is pretty much fully formed at this point, it just needs to gain weight. But, it also said that baby has one very important thing to do this week, and that’s to sprout a pair of nipples. Yes, nipples.
So, in a lot of ways, I suppose this week has been the week of BOOBS.
You’re welcome.
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
