14...almost 15 weeks!

Sooo, I've been a wee bit of a blog slacker this week. I apologize. Work has been INSANE. We have a new employee, I'm training a lady who transferred into my office from another part of my agency on how to do something she has never done & on top of all that, I am still playing catch up from being in training for the last two weeks in April. Then @ home, we have been doing some spring {more like early summer now :o/} cleaning - and I know I still owe you those to do lists. It has turned more from spring cleaning thing into a getting-our-house-ready-for-baby thing, so I'll re-name that list. *smiles*

I'll have sooo many more updates to tell you guys about, but I'll save that recap for this week's 5QF/weekly recap post a little later this evening, but I wanted to get up my 14 week post BEFORE tomorrow b/c then I'll be 15 weeks. Tee hee hee...yeah, I know - I'm late. So, without further adieu...here is my 14 week Baby J update:

Today I am 14 weeks 6 days pregnant & feeling pretty good overall. I still get random aches & pains in my sides, hips & ute area, but I have come to expect them daily & they don't worry me any more. It's essentially soreness in that entire area & I actually get a little paranoid when I don't feel it for too long of a time period. Yesterday though, it was a little more frequent & intense, but not severe. I'm chalking it up to growing pains &/or round ligament/sciatic nerve pain. My boobs are also still slightly sore to the touch & I get daily headaches. I have not stopped going to sleep waaay earlier than I used to; they say the tiredness *~*magically*~* goes away in the 2nd tri & I'm here to tell you - they lie, LOL.

In other news, we got the final results from our NT Scan last week & everything looks great! The geneticist said that Baby J has a 1 in 10,000 chance of being born with Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 13 or 18 - she said that was the lowest possible risk factor based on their standards. I wasn't necessarily worried about the results, since my pregnancy was considered relatively low risk for any of those genetic disorders based on my age & absence of history of any such genetic issues in either of our families, but it still feels great to hear our little one is (based on this test) healthy in there! Thank God!

According to The Bump, this week Baby J is the size of a lemon or a fist!! S/he is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, making urine & breathing in amniotic fluid as his liver, kidney & spleen continue to develop. S/he is also covered in lanugo, which is a thin hair, that grows all over a developing baby's body for warmth - stay warm in there Baby J! I have my 16 week appointment next Friday & hopefully the baby will cooperate this time b/c I can't wait to hear his/her heartbeat for the first time (we have seen it on u/s several times, but never heard it). So far, I have resisted buying one of those at-home Doppler thingys for 2 reasons: 1) I know, if for some reason, I have trouble finding the h/b, I would freaking lose my mind & demand that I be taken to the emergency room (when my inability to find the h/b is related more likely than not to my ignorance in operating medical equipment & not b/c anything would be wrong with the babe), and 2) I'm trying to avoid spending money on unnecessary baby things. I hear 1st time parents make that mistake a lot & I'd rather "waste" my money on cute nursery stuff or baby clothes or toys, rather than on stuff that will make me more paranoid, lol. Oh & also, I'm hoping my OB will give me the go ahead to schedule the BIG ultrasound for sometime in early June! ::squeee:: Can't wait to find out if Baby J is a he or she!

And, here is my 14 week "bump"  (taken on time), which I actually think is starting to develop, woot!

Clothed Belly

Bare Belly

Look out for this week's 5QF & weekly recap in a few hours! And coming {hopefully} next week...nursery update; the hubbs painted, we have the glider/ottoman & the furniture is being delivered today!! I'm so excited & I have soooo many ideas for our LO's nursery - I'll NEED your very expert opinions on my plans for the nursery! And of course, the infamous Spring/Summer/Getting Ready for Baby J to do lists! 'Till next time.  ::smooches::

Happy Mother's Day!!

Sorry I missed 5QF this past week, but we were running around getting some errands done on Friday. I have a weekly recap to post & an update on the nursery furniture & other selections we made! I'm so excited to have my hubby get started on it. I also promise promise, promise to get the other sections of my spring & now semi-early summer to do list posted. You guys probably don't care, haha...it's more me needing to ge it written down for myself, so that we get to it all - especially before the baby comes, but hopefully sooner than that. ;o)

Just wanted to do a quick post wishing all my mama & mama-to-be blog friends a very Happy Mother's Day!! My sister & I took my mom out for lunch for Mother's Day on Friday. We both just gave her cards with cash inside so that she can buy whatever she wants - it's REALLY hard to shop for my mom, lol. We had a great lunch & my sister even got me a mommy-to-be Mother's day card! It was so sweet!

My MIL lives about 4 hours away, so we sent her a card, a Visa gift card & a Grandma photo frame with our latest u/s pic! She called today thanking us - she was crying, lol...she always cries. But she thought it was so sweet & we are happy she liked her gift. She even said she's taking it to work to show everyone tomorrow, hahaha.


I went to my one of my really close girlfriend's bridal shower & bachlorette party on Saturday & had a blast (pics to come on my weekly recap post tomorrow)!! Being a pregnant, sober woman, I left a bit early & got home around midnight, which is late for me now! I'm usually in bed by 9:30pm now, lol. My hubby plays flag football on Sundays, so he's usually gone when I wake up, no difference today, but when I woke up & walked down stairs (after accidentally setting off the alarm & Brinks/Broadview calling me), I saw this:

And inside:

Soo sweet - it was from the baby says my hubby. Inside the card, it says: "PS: Who's that guy who's always patting you on the stomach and saying 'Hello in There!?' What a weirdo!!" Then my husband signed, " Love, the baby & that other guy."

It was such a sweet surprise & totally unexpected! Now he's cooking me some yummy BBQ ribs, baked potatoes & green beans! Hope every mama & mama-to-be out there enjoys their Mother's Day!!

13 weeks pregnant w/ belly pics!

Today I am actually 13 weeks 4 days pregnant, which means I'm in the 2nd trimester, woo hoo!! To celebrate, my hubby & I are going nursery furniture shopping this weekend & I just got a coupon in the mail that Babies 'R Us (BRU) has a 20% off nursery furniture sale going on in-store with a shopping pass. I assume you get said pass if you go in & present the mailing you got from BRU & that entitles you to the 20% off? I hope so anyways.

So, according to thebump.com, the babe is the size of a peach this week! His head is more proportionate to his body & he's forming teeth & vocal chords. I also read in some "your pregnancy week by week" email I signed up for that s/he can hear you talk or sing by now in there! I have been feeling pretty good - still always hungry, getting constant headaches, sore boobs, sore lower belly/pelvic area, going to sleep waaay earlier than my pre-pregnancy bed time. But I really can't complain at all, just hoping the little one is doing well in there! I also "came out"/announced the pregnancy on facebook today. It's like a rite of passage or something, bwahahaha....but seriously, it was exciting to share our news & everyone was so happy for us. Okay, okay...now on to the fun stuff - belly pics (at least fun to me, lol)! Here I am at 13 weeks on Saturday:

Clothed Belly

Bare Belly

Can't wait till the bump gets bigger & people actually start to notice it! I told both of my bosses this week, so now people at work know as well. I have a co-worker who's actually due like a week before me, so we have had a lot of fun talking about the babies. She's not finding out the sex! I don't think I can do that, I'm too much of a planner & I need to know, lol. Okay, that's it for now - I'm starving, so I need to cook dinner. I'll be posting the other pieces of my spring cleaning lists this week/weekend & updating you on our progress so far. I have been majorly slacking on posting those, sorry! Till next time. :)

5 Question Friday - 4/30!

So I've decided that 5QF is a good time to recap my week for everything I didn't talk about in the past week's posts. Feel free to scroll past the non-5QF stuff if you wish, or read the whole post. I'll try & keep the non-5QF stuff brief.

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OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG, I am so.effing.happy.this.week.is.over. I was in this class for work & this psycho guy literally p!ssed off everyone - even threatened me! Yep, a 13 week pregnant woman. It was sooo ridiculous, so a bunch of us banded together & reported him. I hate to say this, but I hope he either gets fired or gets SERIOUS repercussions for the way he was behaving in class. Ugh. I'm so happy it's over & I can just go back to my normal life at work. So sad that I actually want to go back to work. Says a lot about that class huh? It was mainly that dude though...so effing frustrating. Okay, that's all the blog space he gets outta me, just had to vent.

Today was a pretty cool day though after the class was over. we got to see Baby J again. I don't think I'll post the pic b/c it's not very clear. The u/s machine at this place we went to sucked compared to the place we went last week, but the baby's h/b was 162 bpm, s/he was measuring right on track for how far along I am (12w6d) & we saw him/her moving around bit in there! We went for the NT Scan, which is a test (blood work + u/s) that tests for several genetic disorders, one of which is Down's Syndrome. Our baby is considered very low risk due to my age & the lack of any genetic issues in either of our backgrounds. They can't tell you the final results until the blood work comes back, but the u/s part went perfect - everything looks normal with the little one. :)

Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled blogging - 5QF. If you want to participate, head on over to My Little Life & link up (and let me know if you do, I'd love to read my follower's answers)!

1. If you could, would you go back to high school?


The answer to this one is an emphatic hell-to-the-naw. My ex boyfriend (of 5.5 years/high school sweet heart) was so horrible to me & pmb (prettymuchbasically) ruined my HS years for me. The only times I had fun in HS was when were broken up. So so sad, but true.
 
2. If a genie appeared and granted you two wishes, what would they be? (And, no saying "more wishes".)

Hmmm, this is a hard one. But I think wish #1 would be to have a healthy, happy, strong family with more babies a little lata on!  I know this sounds shallow, but wish #2 would definitely be that money is no object & that we could afford whatever we wanted. I know it doesn't buy you happiness & is the root of all evil, but I'm already happy, now I'd just like to be a SAHM momma with Baby J (& the future kiddos) & not have to worry about the bills & be happy...UKWIM?





3. What kids show do you secretly like?

LOL, it's more of a tween show, but I like "That's so Raven" on Saturday mornings, I sit back, relax & watch it while DH is still sleeping in, hehehehe.



 

4. What is your beverage of choice?

Well if I was w/o child, I'd have to say a long beach, white sangria, or mojito. But, since I can't have any of those anytime soon, I'll go with my fav mocktini - IDK what it's called but it has pineapple, orange & cranberry juices with a splash of sprite - ahhhhhhmazing!


 
5. What is something that you would change about yourself (or are working to change in yourself)?
Ummm, I have a pretty short temper sometimes & I'd like to change that. Sometimes it works in my favor, but usually not. I blame my mother for that one, haha. I am just like her & everyone always says so.

That's all I got. Hope you enjoyed this edition of 5QF! I'm going to start doing weekly pregnancy posts complete with u/s & belly pics likely on Saturdays or Sundays just for documentation's sake. Until then...hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday...new birdies for my collection

Say hello to my {new} little friends...

Got these cuties on clearance at Michaels for my entryway table - only $1.99 each! Okay, so that was a few words. ;oP

Mood Board Monday - a serene guest room

I was so excited to participate in my bloggy friend, over at pewter + sage, Sarah's Mood Board Monday blog party this week! I could hardly wait to get started on my board & then Monday came & I realized I hadn't gotten started. So, I set aside a couple hours to work on this & take breaks when necessary. The hubbs was giving me the sad-you're-always-blogging-face the whole time I was working on it, so I'm sure he'll be happy when I finish up this post & cuddle him, tee hee. ;oP

This week's challenge is to design a room around one of several items from West Elm's new PATCH NYC collection. All the new items to choose from were beautiful, but I choose to design my room around these pretty throw pillows:

Now that we finally announced that we are expecting our first little one, I thought about doing a nursery, but I think a much more adult, peaceful guest room fit with this collection. So, here is what I came up with:

4/26 - MB Monday West Elm Contest by Jen J. on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:

Gourd Table Lamp | west elm, $180

Banded Hemstitch 400-Thread-Count Duvet Cover & Sham - Sandalwood |..., $29

Carved-Circles Window Panel | west elm, $44

PATCH NYC Pillow Covers | west elm, $34

PATCH NYC Pillow Covers | west elm, $34

All of the sources I used in the set can be found above & you can also click on the link to the full set for more details. So, what do you think?! Would you stay in my guest room if it was decorated this beautifully?! I know I'd be thrilled to stay in a guest room like this! I really love how this turned out...makes me want to convince hubby to let me buy all this stuff for a guest room - too bad we only have two bedrooms in our teeny townhouse & the extra is now going to the baby. Eh well, next house, right?

Anywho, head on over to this week's MBM post on  pewter+sage to check out all the other beautiful rooms everyone came up with! And cross your finger that I win the $50 West Elm gift card giveaway...I love love love winning blog giveaways & love West Elm's stuff! Okay, gotta run - my hubby is giving me the "get off your blog" side eye right now! ;o)

Some {BIG} news...

Hey there everyone - I am so so sorry that I didn't participate in 5 Question Friday last week, I will continue to do it this week. But, in my defense, I have a really good excuse:

Yep, that's right!!! The Dennifers are expecting our first child & we are SUPER excited! It was a long road to get here & we couldn't be more thrilled! We love him or her so much already...it's so amazing how attached you can get to something the size of a large lime. So, that's where I was on Friday - at my OB, getting the bejesus scared outta me. Baby J (as I'll refer to him/her) decided that instead of letting momma & daddy hear his heartbeat with the Doppler at the Dr's office, that he'd make momma wait a little while & get a last minute ultrasound. That's how we got this pic at 12 weeks of our little one, otherwise I was going to wait until next week to announce it on the blog after the Nuchal Translucency (NT) Scan. His heartbeat was 164 bpm, which was perfect, but yeah - that was majorly scary!  I even think I'm showing maybe a little bit?! My OB seems to think that I am at least, which sounds great to me since I have already started wearing the most comfortable invention ever - maternity jeans! Here is a 5 week vs. 12 week "bump" comparison:

But don't worry, this blog will not turn into an exclusive baby blog. It'll still be about everything going on in our lives, including other non-baby D&R projects, my DIY crafts, trips, etc. Although, of course, the baby is a huge part of our life & I'll be documenting my pregnancy as well on the blog. I can't wait to get started on the nursery & all the other baby DIY crafts I have in mind. In fact, we are going to scout out a new rocker for the nursery today - I talked the hubbs into it after our scary day on Friday. :o) I now have an even more powerful tool to persuade him - the baby!!

Anywho, I hope everyone continues to enjoy my posts (both baby & non-baby related) - I still have to finish up our spring cleaning to do lists, give updates on the craziness with our front sidewalk, post a couple recipes, and lots more! Now, I need to go jump in the shower so we can get shopping!!