Week 24

Major Developments: Pretty lean figure, brain is growing quickly, lungs are developing branches, baby can sense what is upside down and right side up

Size of baby: Long as an ear of corn or about a foot long

Week 24 is over! Hello month 6!

We received some good news this week. Eric’s dad Tulio is going to move to Phoenix from Miami. He finally got the ok from his doctors to move now that his transplant organ is really working with his body well. He decided he wants to move out here April 3! So soon! That really put us into turbo mode on prep for the baby. Tulio will be staying with us in the beginning until he gets on his feet. His dad is a pretty independent person so we are hoping he stays at least a month. He will be staying in the baby’s room while he is at our house. Our place is only a 2 bed 2 bath. This could get awkward when I’m trying to decorate the room. So I’ve made a list of all of the things that I’d like to get done before he gets here so I don’t bother him too much. Whew… it’s kind of long. We are excited to have him. Now our baby will have 2 Grandpa’s and 1 Grandma nearby. I think that grandparents play such a huge role in a child’s life so it is important to have them near.

On Saturday, I met up with a friend to make thank you cards for my upcoming shower. I cannot wait to send them out! They are adorable. I’m getting really anxious to get up to Utah. Not only for the shower but just to be up there. It is always so nice to relax in Utah.

Sunday Bre and I worked on a baby project. We are making a pegboard that will go over the changing station. My changing station is only as long & wide as the changing pad that will go on top. This doesn’t leave any room for diaper storage, baby powder, wipes, ect. This is where the pegboard comes in. I found an adorable idea on pinterest, of course. The pegboard was sprayed grey to match the room. I found super cute wire baskets in the dollar section at target that we sprayed yellow. I also found an adorable yellow metal giraffe to attach as well. I’ll put a bunch of cute things on the board for little baby Silva to look at while I change his stinky little bum. Once I finish it I’ll post a picture.

As we all know, the naming game has been a struggle. Each day, I am asked by countless people what the name is. I told Eric that I would really like to have a name finalized by the shower on Saturday. That would really make me happy! I think we both know what it is but are dragging our feet. Its gotta end! We both agreed that any other names we add to the list are just not going to cut it. So, I’m really really hoping next time I blog we’ll have a name.

Baby Silva has been kicking a ton lately. He is becoming more and more active. He is even letting his daddy feel his little kicks now. Sometimes I’m pretty shocked by how hard he’s actually kicking in there. We might have a little Latino soccer player in there, or maybe a kicker for a football team. Knowing our family gene pool, he won’t be big enough to play football. We’ll go with soccer.

Baby Silva likes to get his fitness on. The other day at the gym I almost had a heart attack. I was walking around the gym and look down and I have this odd lump in my shirt. It was a hard lump just above and to the left of my belly button. It felt round too. I rubbed it and it went away, but it still freaked me out. I read online that the baby might have been sticking his little butt out. That made me feel a little better but it was still creepy. Whenever I am at the gym, baby works on his fitness with mommy. He starts kicking up a storm. He’s going to have the strongest little legs. I don’t feel as many punches as I do kicks. Twice since the tummy lump incident I have felt harder lumps around my tummy. Once I think I felt a leg because it was long and straight rather than hard and round. I’m wondering if I will start seeing weird little shapes under my belly soon.

I have been avoiding maternity pants like the plague. I bought a pair a couple weeks ago but hadn’t put them on because they were major flares. I busted out my sewing machine and hemmed them into skinny pants this week. Man, I wish I had done that earlier. Let me just say for the record, maternity pants are a little piece of heaven. No zipper to mess with, no buttons to mess with.. GLORIOUS! I have been extremely uncomfortable the last few weeks. I have been wearing my regular work slacks but unbuttoned. I have found that wearing a tight fitting cami under my shirt helps to hide the button problem. It is just getting really uncomfortable. Jeans are completely out of the question at this point. I despise them with every fiber of my soul. I hated them before but now I really hate them. My jeans fit me in the leg but in the belly region… that’s a different story. I almost wish that all pants were like maternity pants. With the elastic panel, you don’t have to worry about a belt to keep sagging pants down and there is no need to worry about exposing your butt crack to half the country. You just pull them up and go! So dang comfy. The only problem is I have only one pair. This is the first pair I’ve found that came in something other than a Small, Medium, or Large. These are my regular size with more room to grow. Best pregnancy invention ever! I must find more sized maternity pants.

A little pregnancy humor...

Any whooooot. I have a feeling that week 25 will be just wonderful. Radiohead concert, road trip to Utah, baby shower, the works. J

Week 23

Major Developments: Baby has new sense of movement, lungs are preparing for breathing, inner ear is fully formed, baby is becoming more proportioned

Size of baby: Mango

So I got really lazy last night and didn't post week 23. I was so so sleepy!!

Time is passing by so quickly I cannot even believe it. We are going up to Utah next weekend. My Aunty Amy & Grandma Frandsen are throwing me a shower. Can you believe I'm already getting to that point? Amy sent out the absolute cutest invites in the world. I loved them!!!! I can't wait to go up and hang out with my family. One of my last baby free trips up there! Its always lovely to go to Utah and relax. I'm planning on hitting up a few fabric stores while I'm there. I still have a few things to sew. There is a very limited selection of fabric stores in Phoenix, which is really terrible. I cannot wait!

As far as health goes, I'm still feeling fine. Although, I do have this really strange pain under my right rib. I think that baby is just running out of room. It feels like he has messed with one of my muscles because I have this weird rubbery bump where the pain is. Naughty little thing. I think I have also swapped bladders with an ant. Week 23 was pretty much the beginning of true pregnancy bladder. I am now getting up in the night to "tinkle". This drive to Utah will be quite interesting with all of the possible pit stops! Sometimes I feel like the baby is stretching my insides out. I can only imagine how it will be in the next little while. My lower back is really starting to ache now. I've gained nearly every pound in my belly so I can only imagine my little back is just thinking "Hey man, you can stop at any time". Other than that still feeling wonderful. Everyday I thank my lucky stars that I have been so fortunate in the health area.

The baby is really starting to do a lot of kicking and dancing. He's my little tiny dancer! Last night, I had my cell phone resting on my belly and that baby starting kicking up a storm. My cell phone was literally bouncing. Poor Eric never really got to see it though. Its really funny. Any time I tell Eric the baby is moving watch/feel, the baby doesn't do it. He's a little shy with Daddy. Meanwhile, me and baby are playing tag! Sometimes at work, he kicks me and I'll tap back. That usually goes on for a few minutes and then he gets tired... or bored. He must have tired himself out on Sunday because he did not move hardly at all, which really freaked me out. Saturday night I woke up with pain in my tummy, the stretching kind. Then Sunday he wasn't moving much so I was all nervous throughout the day. I guess maybe he was changing positions or something when I felt that pain, I don't know. He usually kicks in the same region though - under my right rib where I have that annoying pain. Once in a while I'll get a jab to the bladder, but not too often thank goodness. I think he is still chilling upside down.   

The name situation is still a mystery. I think we are both really digging the name Grayson Yorke but haven't committed yet. It is a name that we both really like, which is good.... we just haven't given it the green light yet. To me, it rolls off the tongue almost. Who knows. I don't want to rush anything, but I really want to get my name decorations rolling.

Speaking of decorations..... THE BEDDING IS FINALLY DONE! I had my crib skirt done a while ago as you know but now the bumpers are done. Man, they took me a while. I'm rusty on the sewing so I made a few mistakes that I had to figure out. They turned out pretty good. I'm so proud. Usually, I do all my sewing with my Grandma. This is my first project all by my self! Gold star for me. hehe. Here's the finished product. The lighting sucks in the picture but I was really anxious to take a picture last night.

The inside of the bumpers are gray but they look black from the pictures. I'd like to pull a lot more gray into the room so it doesn't seem like a yellow and black room. Bzzzzzzz, who let the bees in??
I also finally chose hardware for that dresser Eric painted so lovely. I couldn't choose between yellow or black on the knobs so I went with both. A little funky, but that was my goal. Here are the before and after pictures:

Speaking of Eric...poor little guy had to have an endoscopy on Monday. Like I said before, he was having some gallbladder problems. We found out he has stones and has to have the gallbladder removed. Poor little guy was so nervous!!! He was high as a kite after the exam!!! HILARIOUS. He will have his surgery scheduled for the end of March or later. I think he's feeling a lot better about it! He'll beat me to a stay in the hospital, which is a good thing. The sooner the better on this thing. I don't think we want another gallstone attack! Here he is after waking up. Dress shoes and all. Funny guy.

After each week that ends, I love pregnancy more and more. I know I keep saying it, but does this really have to end. Its just lovely. Today I got the sweetest email from a friend/coworker about my pregnancy. I have been named by a few people as the cutest pregnant person. Heheh. I don't think I'd say the cutest but it is a sweet thought. Its so nice to have people that are just as excited as you are about your pregnancy. I love sharing my pregnancy with others. Its just a joyous time :)

Ta ta for now!

Week 22

Major Developments: Baby looks like miniature newborn, lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, eyes are formed but irises lack color

Size of baby: Length of spaghetti squash

Week 22 over, and yes, my pants are unbuttoned!! Whew, I'm getting bigger. I have been gaining 4 lbs a week out of nowhere. My bump is in full effect and I love it!

This week we had another ultrasound to see if they could get the baby's face. They have to rule out cleft lip. Every time I hear that tiny little heartbeat, I feel so relieved. Its really weird that I am still freaked out about something happening. Who knows. They surprised us with 4D pictures of our little baby. It was amazing! I said in the beginning that I didn't know if I wanted a 4D ultrasound because I wanted the face to be a surprise. It actually kind of scared me when I first saw me. I was just shocked to see what was on the screen.

Baby Silva looks like a real baby. I don't really recognize anything yet. It seems like he looks just like a "baby" to me. The only thing that I recognize in one picture is Eric's nose. The nose looks different in every shot though. What a cutie anyway. He loves to keep his hand up by his head. It was so surreal to see him playing with his ear in 4D rather than regular ultrasound. You could see him flexing each finger and flicking his ear. So crazy!!! Baby is healthy and is growing and growing.

My Aunt Stephanie and her husband came into town this weekend. I didn't get much nursery stuff done. The rocker came in the mail though! Eric set it up and it is wonderful! I love it so much. I have rearranged the room a couple times because I'm not quite sure on the furniture placement. I can't wait until it is all finished!! I shopped around a little for hardware for the dresser. I can't decide on that yet either.

Sunday we had a delicious delicious BBQ. Kabobs and strawberry salad. Mmmmmm baby loved it!!!! We also had a small dance party. Baby Silva must have wondered what the heck was going on out there. Thriller and all.

Monday I got my first case of swollen ankles. I was putting on my gym shoes after work and noticed fat rolls around my ankles. Once I put my gym shoes on it was aparant that my ankles were swollen. It was hilarious to me!!! I was hoping that the walking around the gym would help but it didn't. At home I took what Eric calls a "photoshoot with my ankles" funny guy. I just felt like I had stump leg. My ankle was dangling over my sock.

 Pictures did not capture the full extent. I'm sure it wasn't really even that bad, but it was just humorous to me. I felt like people of Walmart!!

For the grand finale of week 22, I saw the baby move under my shirt. The baby has been moving a lot more lately. Not a ton, but not non-existent. I was sitting at work feeling the baby kick when all of a sudden I started to see little pokes under my shirt. I didn't think I'd actually see the kicks so early. It was really cool. Later at home, I started watching my bare belly for kicks. I saw tiny little bumps coming from my belly. That baby sure likes to play tag. He also likes to punch my bladder. I can't imagine how that will feel when I'm further along....That will be interesting!

Pregnancy is bliss :)

Week 21

Major Developments: Movements are turning in to full fledged kicks, eyebrow & lips are now present.

Size of baby: Length of Carrot

Week 21.... check. I have been super tired this past week. I read on my pregnancy app that baby grew quite a bit in length. No wonder I'm so tired!I feel like my belly has grown a lot too. Towards the end of week 21 I felt like my belly was growing a mile a minute! I finally have reached a milestone in my weight history. I have entered the 120's. I gained over 3 pounds from week 20 to 21. I have been averaging a pound or less a week in the past month so 3 lbs is a lot for me, even though it sounds like nothing. Its crazy. The only place I'm gaining weight is in my belly. My pants still fit in the leg. According to my records I have gained 12 lbs. So all 12 lbs are right at my belly. My belly button is starting to pop out a little. I think pretty soon here I'm going to have an outie! I didn't think I'd have one of those in all of my life. Usually, my belly button is  so deep you could lose the remote controller in it! It is fascinating to watch my belly expand!!!!

This weekend was a long weekend away from work. Thank goodness. I really needed it. This month at work has been a rough one. I thought year end financials were rough. Turns out the first month is worse. Eric has been having some stomach problems. So we spent Saturday just chilling. He thinks he's got gallstones. :( Poor guy. He's finding out tomorrow what the deal is. Hopefully nothing too serious. Saturday I got a lot of sewing done. I finished my dust ruffle on my crib. I would have finished a lot earlier but I made them too long so I had to re-hem. Here is a crappy picture taken from my phone. When I finish the rest I'll take a nice picture:

I'm getting so addicted to my sewing machine. I've got a whole list of projects I want to get done. I have found so many cool things that I can sew for the nursery. I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eric doesn't see much of me when I get in the mood to work on my sewing projects. He's going to see smoke coming off of my machine soon.

Sunday Eric felt slightly better. He refinished the dresser for me so we now have a partially finished changing table! It went from green to white and looks great. I don't have a picture yet because I don't have hardware on it yet. I'm going to go shopping for some really funky knobs for it. So fun. 

Monday I attempted to go maternity clothes shopping with my mom. Target has NOTHING! I tried on some pants and looked ridiculous. They are huge in the thigh and butt. I apparently have neither. :( The maternity section at Target is comprised of about 5 racks of huge shirts and 1 rack of ugly pants. Poo. We tried Old Navy. First, I must say, all you non-pregnant women need to get in there because they have so much cute stuff. The maternity section there is just as bad, if not worse than target. I found some maternity pants that actually came in a size. They fit wonderful on the waist but are flares, so I might take them in. Flares on a pregnant chic to me don't make much sense.... I prefer skinny jeans/pants anyways. I spoiled myself and bought some other shirts that I can wear now and when I've popped my baby out. This something I never do so I felt both excited and guilt. Mostly guilt though....Ugh. I have a problem.

Monday I also got a KILLER deal on curtians for the nursery at Target. We put one set up on the closet yesterday...so again I don't have a picture. I'm slacking major. I promise to post more. They are sheer white with black circles. Really cute. I'm so pleased.

Monday night I went to bed in such a fabulous mood due to my bargain shopping. I woke up the next morning full of spunk and still in a fabulous mood. I think that baby Silva is going to be a happy baby. I think he has his own little supply of sunshine and shares with me occasionally. Planning the nursery has got to be one of the most exciting things I've done. It has been so much more fun that even planning a wedding. That was just stressful. Preparing for this baby has made me so happy. I just love being pregnant. 

Oh yes, and I can't forget. We started a registry at Target. I have been doing all kinds of research on products, since I am clueless on baby stuff. I am learning so much! The registry isn't complete but I hope to have it finished sometime soon. I have a lot more things to research. Like a breast pump....I have absolutely no clue which one is best. Ugh..... who knows!!

We are having major difficulties in picking a name. I swear I get asked a million times a day if we have a name picked out. NO! hehe. I want to pick a name with both love but we just can't reach that agreement yet. Who knew naming a baby would be so difficult?! I can't beleive it. We had a girl name all picked out but the boy name is so much more difficult. I am hoping to have one selected soon. You may be seeing a survey sent out on names.... :)

We have an ultrasound scheduled for Friday so I am really excited to see my little creature. I will post our findings. Hopefully he shows his face this time. Wish us luck!

Week 20

Major Developments: Baby is swallowing and making the gooey substance that will be in its first diaper. (Gross!!) Waxy substance is covering skin to prevent it from becoming chapped and scratched.

Size of baby: Lenght of banana (6.5 inches)

 

Finally the 5th month has arrived. I have so much to report on!!

I was not quite 20 weeks in the above picture but you get the idea. I'm getting my lovely baby bump finally!! I've been gaining about a pound a week, which is good.

I had my ultrasound done on Friday. Its official, we are having a BOY, which is the reason for the change of my blog colors. Green for a little boy. I invited my mom and grandma to the ultrasound. I did not like my ultrasound tech at all. She was all about business, which was counting those little fingers. The ultrasound lasted about 7 minutes. My last ultrasound was about 25 minutes. She confirmed it was a boy but didn't take a picture of it. I did get a picture of those cute little feet again and the fingers:

I have to go in again in 2 weeks because we weren't able to get a clear shot of the face. I'm really disappointed because the lady didn't take a picture of what we would see of the face. In the ultrasound, we could see the outline of an eye. It was so cute, we could even see it moving its little mouth around. The cutest thing in the world was the little baby playing with its ear. He had his hand up near his head in a little fist. He'd flatten his hand out and then tighten it up like he was grasping his ears. SO FREAKING CUTE. It just melted my little heart to see him doing something so human like. I'm excited we get to go in again in another 2 weeks but I am going to get too used to this seeing the baby so often thing. I'm being spoiled!

Friday, Grandma and I went shopping for fabric. It was harder than I thought now that I could actually buy something. I wanted a grey, yellow, and white theme so I bought fabrics to go along with that scheme. I had a hard time choosing between that and blues. I had to go to 3 stores to get what I needed but I finally have everything but the pads for the bumpers, which I need to order online.

 The yellow fabric is for the bumpers and the black and yellow is for the dust ruffle. I have almost finished up the dust ruffle and can't wait to start sewing the bumpers! So much fun!!!

The crib also came in on Friday! It is perfect. Eric and our friend Devon put it together on Sunday. Its white and matches our molding so well. I'm really pleased with the crib we picked out. Its really creepy to walk to the bathroom past the baby's room and see a crib in there. I can't believe that I have a crib in my house. Isn't that weird. Soon I'll even have a baby in the house.... strange. Pregnancy is so much fun!!

Tuesday, Valentines Day, Eric and I went out on a date. We had an early dinner to beat the crowds and then went to the movies. On Monday I had a chocolate brownie and felt 3 hard thumps in my belly. I thought that maybe I was feeling the baby but I wasn't sure. After our Valentine's dinner, I had a piece of chocolate and I felt one hard thump. I googled it and read that sometimes babies kick after chocolate. So I decided to take a snickers bar to the movies. I ate only half the bar and about 20 min later that baby went to town! He was kicking up a storm. It was a crazy feeling - little tiny hands and feet bumping my belly the whole movie. The coolest part about it was that Eric was there to feel it too. We just couldn't believe it. The kicks are about 2 inches from my ribs so that crazy little guy will be kicking my ribs out soon. Since this time, I have felt a few kicks here and there but nothing like during the movie. We saw The Chronicle where the teens get super powers so I joked that our baby was pretending to have super powers. What a cutie!

This week I have had a cold. I have been calling it the mom cold. There is a hilarious video on youtube about the "Man Flu", which is so true. Men just fall apart when they are sick. I think I have a similar condition but it is the preggo cold. I NEVER get sick. I have been sick twice since being pregnant. I think my body was fighting this cold off pretty hard. Eric had it last week along with my mom and dad. Everyone at work has had it. It took me quite a while to pick it up. The worst part of being pregnant and sick is the limitation on meds you can take. I had to breakdown and call the doc to see what I could take because I was miserable. To top it off, I am having a problem with my braces that is pretty painful. Ugh!!!

This weekend I hope to get the dresser finished so we can come up with furniture placement. I also hope to get most of the sewing done as well. I'm so happy to finally be working on things! Now, if we could only decide on a name.... That's the hard part.

Ta ta!

Week 19

Major Developments: Sensory development is progressing, baby can hear my voice, arms and legs are the right proportion to the body, and kidneys are producing urine.

Size of baby: Heirloom Tomato. About 8.5 Oz and 6 inches long

Week 19 over!!! The 5th month is finally here. Week 19 was so much fun. As I mentioned earlier, I did some wallpapering over the weekend. We are finally going to start doing more baby stuff each weekend. Next weekend, I'd like to start on re-finishing the dresser for the nursery. Well, I'll "supervise" and Eric will work, since I can't be around the chemicals. Dang it!!

Friday night, I had a strange pain in my stomach near my diaphragm. I didn't have much of an appetite, and felt generally pretty yucky. The next morning, I woke up and I swear that my bump grew over night! It is finally starting to take shape. Since I blog a week behind, the pictures above were taken before my growth spurt. My week 20 pictures will be fun to share because I'm really getting bigger!! It is soooo fun. I love my growing bump. I feel like I got ripped off because it took nearly 5 months to start showing. I feel like my pregnancy is flying by! I wish I could slow time down because it is so fun to experience. I feel like the baby will be here before I can even blink my eyes. I just want to savor it all before its over!!

I have been feeling fine other than this new stretching sensation in my belly. I was telling my sister Megan that I feel like my insides are being stretched out on a medieval torture weapons. Its a really strange feeling. I just imagine my baby stretched completely out, using my ribs as a kick start to try and squeeze in some extra room. I think he's trying to do me a favor by trying to make me a little taller. Funny guy. Every time I feel this, I think that my belly is going to get bigger suddenly like it did on Friday. hehe. We'll see.

Eric has been a real cutie. Since we learned that the baby can hear now, he has been talking to my belly each day. He's hoping when the baby arrives, it will recognize his voice. I think its so cool how that can really happen! I was joking with my Mom and sister Bre that the baby isn't going to recognize my voice because I am always using an accent with them. My family is really weird and we always talk in accent. My baby is going to be so confused!!!

Something Eric and I are really struggling with is naming our little creature. Since we are pretty sure its a boy, we have just been focusing on the boy names. Plus, we've had a girl name picked out for years. Bijou Mabel Silva. The boy names are much harder to commit to. We have made a list of names and tried to narrow them down. We just can't agree on our top choices. All I know for sure is I want the middle name to be Yorke for a boy. We want our baby to have a unique name so that they aren't the same as all of the other kids in its class. We also don't want it to be so weird that the kid hates it or people can't pronounce it. Ugh.... this naming business is hard work. Its a decision that lasts forever!!!! I'll keep you updated on our decision.

This weekend, my Frandsen Grandparents will be in town. This is just in time for my 20 week ultrasound. This ultrasound will (hopefully) let us know what the baby is. I have invited my Grandparents and Mom to the Ultrasound. I wanted to invite my Grandma to the ultrasound because she hasn't been able to be involved in some of the other pregnancy related stuff since she is so far away. This is going to be a full house! I can't wait to see how much my little creature has grown in 2 weeks. Hopefully, soon after the ultrasound we will have a name so I can stop calling it creature, creaton, and it. Wish us luck!!

Wallpaper in the Nursery

This weekend was absolutely fabulous! I finally got to do some shopping! We had to buy a new microwave for our kitchen just in time for baby. The stupid thing broke months ago and I have been protesting buying a new one.Our house is brand new and the dang thing crapped out on us!! Ugh. The nerve. Eric finally convinced me that we will need it for warming up milk for our baby. I addition to the microwave, I bought 2 of the cutest curtain rods on the planet! I love love love Allen + Roth products from Lowes. They are just the best.

Rod Ends:

 

Curtain Tie Backs:

 

I also finally decided on the wallpaper that was going to go up. It took me forever but I finally chose the first one I liked. It is called Spanish Tile, also by Allen + Roth. It kind of reminds me of a Moroccan style rug or something. I love it. It is grey, which goes along with my grey and yellow theme for the nursery.

My mom and Bre came over to help me put up the wallpaper yesterday. I was so happy to have their help because I had never put up wallpaper. Now that my mom taught me, I feel like I could wallpaper anything. It was sooooo much fun! I get kind of OCD about things so it was right down my ally. Lining up all the seams and finding the pattern. How fun. I seriously want to re-do my whole house!! I have opened pandora's box. Who knew wallpaper could be so cute! Here are some before and after pictures of our weekend project!!! Ignore my messy closet! We are still trying to find homes for all the crap we stored in there. We are taking the doors off and putting up curtains instead. That will be part of my next adventure. Happy viewing!