Bumpdate: 13 Weeks!

13 Weeks!
Baby is currently the size of a PEACH!

Next Appointment: My next OB (doppler) appointment is November 11th!

Gender: We will know by 10/25....SO soon!

Total Weight Gain: I'm still not sure but I'll find out on 11/11!

Maternity Clothes: Still none yet.  Ok, I lied.  I bought a maternity tank from Target for $1.99 and it's insanely soft so I wear it around the house.  I definitely don't need maternity clothes yet but I just can't get over the comfy factor! :)

Food Cravings/Aversions: I've realized I've been craving fruit stuff.  I'm normally a chocolate kind of girl.  Lately for my after dinner snack I'm reaching for fruity things like popsicles and fig newtons!  

Best Moment This Week: I would say the best moment would probably be when we took Carson to the pumpkin patch.  I know it has nothing to do with my pregnancy but I just couldn't stop thinking about the fact that next year we'll be there with his sibling! <3

What I Miss: I miss meal planning.  Sadly I've been majorly slacking because there are so many foods that just disgust me right now.  Our menu has been very limited and I feel so bad for my poor husband!  Sometimes I make 2 meals because I honestly just can't eat what I make for him.  The other night I had toast with jelly for dinner.  So random but I couldn't think of anything else that didn't make me want to gag.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Obviously our elective gender scan!  

Extra Notes From the Week: I got the results for my blood test and I do NOT have Cholestatis.  I expected this news, but I'm happy anyway!  



Don't forget to enter your gender prediction guess on my old wives tales post from last week!

Blue or Pink...What Do You Think?

{via}

One week from today we will (hopefully) find out if Carson is going to have a baby sister or a baby brother!  I thought it would be fun to see what the old wives tales have to say....

Baby's Heartbeat 
"According to legend, 140+ beats per minute indicates a girl, and below 140 a boy."
GIRL: At our first ultrasound baby's heart was beating at 155bpm.  At my last doppler, baby's heart was beating at 160bpm.

Cravings 
"Craving ice cream every single day? Some people believe this means it's a girl. If you have to have salty or sour stuff, then it's a boy."
"Your favorite pregnancy foods may tell you what sex the baby is. If you're craving citrus while pregnant, you're having a girl."
GIRL (kind of...): This is hard because I've had more food aversions than cravings.  The only craving I had was a fruity drink (Orange Hi-C) so I guess that means girl since it's a citrus flavored drink??

Chinese Gender Predictor Chart

"This ancient method uses your age at conception and the month you did the deed to determine gender."
GIRL: I checked this chart, this chart, and this chart.  However, when I did this back during my pregnancy with Carson, it also predicted girl....and obviously it was wrong! :)

Even and Odd
"Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby's sex by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy."
BOY: I am 28 years old and the year is 2013.  That means one even and one odd!

Skin
"If you're breaking out like crazy, blame it on your girl babe. The belief goes that girls steal their mother's beauty, hence, those annoying zits."
GIRL: I definitely have some teenager skin going on right now.  I remember breaking out when I was pregnant with Carson, too though.  I feel like it's worse this time but I honestly can't remember!

Morning Sickness
"Sick as a dog during the first trimester -- or still? Signs indicate you're having a girl. Little or no morning sickness points to a boy."
GIRL: I have definitely had morning sickness this time around!  Last time I think I felt queasy maybe 2 times during my entire pregnancy and I never got sick.  This time, it's a different story!

Sleep Position
"Pay attention to which way you lay down in bed tonight. If you prefer sleeping on your left side, you'll have a boy. Right side? Your pregnant with a girl."
BOY: I almost always sleep on my left side.  I move around a lot throughout the night, but that's how I lay when I fall asleep!

Hands
"If your hands are dry during pregnancy, you are having a boy; soft -- expect a girl."
GIRL: This is a weird one that I hadn't heard before!  My hands are soft, but they might get a little more dry this winter...that's what always happens!


Overall it looks like most signs (6/8) point to GIRL!  I've felt like there might be a little girl in there because this pregnancy is SO different than my pregnancy with Carson!  That's the only reason I have felt it may be a girl, though.  Otherwise I have no idea!  I can't wait to find out!  I would love for Carson to have a little brother and watch the bond they develop over the years, but at the same time, I would obviously love to experience life with a little girl!

Take a second to vote so I can see what my readers think I'll be having! :)

Blue or Pink...What Do You Think?
	Boy
	Girl
pollcode.com free polls

I found my old wives tales here and here.

Accessories for My Shoes!

Does anyone remember "Bow Biters"?  I know I had some and I'm pretty sure I had a pair of Garfield Bow Biters.  They kept your shoes from coming untied back in the 90's (and apparently they still make them today).  Talk about stylish!

Luckily shoe "accessories" aren't the same for me anymore....

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to receive the Dr. Scholl's Active Series vox box courtesy of influenster.  I have never used inserts in my shoes so I was excited to see how these would work.  I was surprised how perfectly they fit into my shoes.  You can't even tell there are inserts in there!

Here are some of the features of the Dr. Scholl's Active Series inserts:

• Reduces shock by 40%
• Designed with Triple Zone Protection for your ball of foot, arch, and heel
• Helps relieve and prevent pain from shin splints, runner's knee and plantar fasciitis
• Helps reduce foot odor with SweatMax™ technology

Have you tried inserts in your shoes?  These inserts are super affordable and super comfortable!  If you're looking to try an insert, I suggest the Dr. Scholl's Active Series!

Note: I received this product complimentary from Influenster for testing and review purposes.  

First Bumpdate! (Weeks 6-12)

In case you missed it, last week I announced our big news!  We are so thankful and thrilled and I'm so glad that the news is finally "out"!  It's really hard to keep such a big secret for so long!

I'm currently 12 weeks along.  Here are some of my past weekly "updates"....

As you can see, I have no real bump yet...but I feel like it's definitely coming soon!  I definitely bloat super easy, that's for sure!  My nausea has been up and down.  Some weeks it's awful, other weeks it's manageable.  In the grand scheme of things, I feel very lucky with the "symptoms" I've been experiencing!

Here is my most recent bump shot:

12 Weeks!
Baby is currently the size of a PLUM!

Next Appointment: October 25th is our elective ultrasound to find out if Carson is getting a baby brother or sister!  My next OB (doppler) appointment is November 11th!

Gender: We will know by the end of next week!

Total Weight Gain: I have no idea....I wasn't up at all at my last appointment a week ago.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet!  I got them out of the storage bin, but they're still in a space bag.  I am totally comfortable in my regular jeans still....thankfully! :)

Food Cravings/Aversions: No new cravings but I'm still loving orange hi-c!  I used to go to the McDonald's drive-thru to pick them up but I ended up buying some juice boxes at the grocery.  :)  As far as aversions, a lot of meat sounds gross to me.  I bought chicken breasts and ground turkey for a few dinners I was going to make and couldn't even get them out to prep, yuck!

Best Moment This Week: I took Carson with me to my OB appointment and we had to wait quite a while.  He was getting pretty restless.  Once Dr G set up the doppler, Carson smiled SO big when he heard the heart beat.  Probably a coincidence but it still made me so happy!

What I Miss: I miss not waking up in the middle of the night to pee!  I also miss having energy....hopefully that will return soon!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Our elective ultrasound next Friday!  I'm also looking forward to not feeling so bloated and feeling pregnant instead.  Unfortunately that could be a while, who knows!

Extra Notes From the Week: This week I had to go in for some extra blood work to get my bile acids checked.  After speaking to my doctor at my 10/7 appointment, she wanted to get me tested for Cholestasis.   I feel pretty confident that I don't have it because it is most common later in pregnancy.  They said they will call me with the results by Friday so until then, I will not stress!

All About the Hubster!

Ok, not really all about him.  But I wanted to share some random facts with you all!

Just so you can put a name to a {very handsome} face, here he is...MY husband!  (Is it weird that I still find it fun to say that after 5+ years?!)

Now, onto some random factoids....

1. He is 4 years older than me (but he will say 3 years and 51 weeks, ha)!
2. When we met, he worked at a grocery store.  Obviously I was a gold digger!
3. He now works in IT for one of the largest employers in our area.
4. He loves watches and probably has about 10.
5. He has narrow feet so he's super picky about shoes.
6. He loves cars and sports.  Typical guy, right?
7. When I say he loves sports, I mean he LOVES them.  In his world, fall is short for F-ootb-ALL season! :)
8. He used to have a 400+hp sports car AND he let me borrow it when I was 18.  Brave man!
9. He will do anything for me and Carson.
10. He loves his soda, specifically Cherry Coke Zero.  I don't know how I gave up soda living with him!
11. He is an only child.
12. His birthday is a week after mine in July (but we're 4 years apart).
13. He can grow a beard in about 5 hours.  Silly Italians!
14. He's good at anything - board games, sports, anything competitive!
15. He isn't a dessert guy.  BUT I can convince him to eat dessert my homemade treats quite often!

And for good measure, here's one more pic of my handsome hubby (plus his amazing family)!  :)

I'm linking up with Becky today:

Carson's Big News

We've been keeping a secret for a while.........

That's right, I'm due with baby 2!  Our official due date is April 24, 2014 and we couldn't be more excited!  It's been SO hard to keep this in for so long!


Here are some outtakes from our little photo shoot:

Laughing while crumpling the ultrasound picture - uh oh!

Clapping :)

"Cheese!" ha

airplane!

My Dream Bed!

Who here LOVES their bedroom?  Most people I talk to at least like their bedroom, but have a little (or long) list of things they would do to make it better.  I actually really do like our bedroom.  When we first moved in over 8 years ago, it was a different story!  But in the past 8.5 years, we've chosen a soothing paint color, bought "big kid" furniture (an actual set!), installed a ceiling fan (with remote!), and put up some insulated black-out curtains.  I love that our bedroom has vaulted ceilings, but still feels cozy.  Our bed is super comfortable.  The one thing I would change about our room is our bedding!  I'm not one to splurge on bedding, but I love having a few different styles to change the look of our room.  Right now I have a quilt that we use for the warmer months and a down comforter with 3-4 duvet covers for the cooler months.  I love what we have, but I feel like we need to update a bit!  Who doesn't love getting new bedding?!

Here's a look at our bedroom now.  This is our summer "quilt"/bedspread.

Zulily.com is currently having a sale on Lush Decor items!  They have an amazing selection and I'm thinking it might be the perfect opportunity to spruce up our bedroom!  [Now, who wants to help me convince the husband?!]  The Lush Decor Sale at zulily.com started TODAY so hurry over and see what would fit your bedroom best!  I picked a few of my favorite bedding choices from Zulily.com to share with you guys:

Lush Gray Modern Chic Comforter Set

Lush Purple Lake Como Comforter Set

Lush White Venetian Comforter Set

Don't forget to head over now to check out the sale before they sell out!