The Stuff of Dreams....

So, lately I have been having the weirdest, most vivid dreams. Those of you who know me know that I'm not exactly a light sleeper, and have been known to have a few nocturnal encounters, (sleep walking, talking, arranging cereal boxes while not awake....etc....) and naturally, I've always dreamed, but somehow these dreams are different.

Sometimes, the dreams freak me right out. I won't tell you any of my scary ones, quite frankly, I don't really want to relive them, but last night, I had dreams that made me laugh out loud, so I thought I'd share.

Tomorrow I'm 23 weeks pregnant, and about to start my 6th month. I'm getting bigger, well my belly is. My pants are tight, my shirts are riding, and I sometimes feel as if I'm losing my ability to see my toes. To put the icing on the cake, last night I had a dream that went something like this...

I was out shopping, in a mall, looking at Halloween candy. I was wearing my favorite pair of pre-pregnancy jeans, when all of a sudden, my belly exploded (not literally, but it got big) and I split my pants. Mortified, I ran into the nearest store, bought another pair, and no sooner had I done up the top button, when I split those pants. I kept running store to store, desperately trying on pants, and bursting each right open. I finally woke myself up, and once I realized I was awake, I couldn't help but chuckle. I don't know what the dream meant, but maybe it IS time to go maternity shopping for real... :)

A Jumping Bean

Having a baby brings more cool things and changes everyday. Jelly Bean has been kicking fairly regularly now, and I have been so looking forward to sharing with Matt. However, Jelly Bean appears to know whenever I call Matt to come look at or touch my stomach, so for the past little while we've been playing a bit of a game, that goes something like this:

I am getting ready for bed, lying down, and enjoying watching/feeling the show in my stomach. Jelly Bean will be attempting what I think, are pretty amazing acrobatic feats, and I call to Matt, thinking he'd want to join the party. Matt will come running, ready to participate in the marvel, he'll put his hand on my jumping belly, and then, without fail, Jelly Bean goes quiet. Matt will sit for a bit, ask me if the baby is moving, and though I want to say yes, that little JB has decided to indulge in a sudden bought of narcolepsy.

This has happened multiple times, so finally, Matt and I decided we had to be a little more tricksy if he ever wanted to see/feel Jelly Bean kick. We developed hand signals, which basically involve me frantically waving at the right time, and trying not to laugh.

Finally, just the other night, Matt was able to be sneaky enough and not only SAW our little Bean jump, but FELT it too. I sometimes forget what it must be like for Matt to not be as intimate with the whole pregnancy thing as I am. I get to feel everything, and he just has to trust me. When he felt the movement of our baby he got the biggest grin on his face and said "Whoa." It was the best thing ever. We have a little Jumping Bean, and now Matt knows it too!

Beautiful Bella Band

As I have been mentioning, my growing Jelly Bean has been making my pant life uncomfortable for the last little while. SO, today, when yet another pair of jeans just wouldn't do up, I decided it was time to stop squishing my poor little JB and do something about the situation. I know that it is ridiculous, but I have a hard time buying things for myself--I love to shop, but when it comes down to purchase time, I hesitate and feel guilty, and end up with nothing. (Just ask Matt, it drives him bonkers.) I have been in a few maternity stores as of late, just looking, but I am a complete deer-in-the-headlights when it comes to buying. But today, it was the last straw. I gathered enough courage, and on the recommendation of a good friend(thanks Ceri,) went looking for the Bella Band.

It is nothing special, just a piece of stretchy material that goes around my waist, but Hallelujah! For the time being, I can still wear some of my old pants, BUT keep them unbuttoned and breathable, without running the risk of exposing more than I anticipated. It is SUCH a relief. I would recommend the thing (even though it was $40) to anyone--Jelly Bean is happily kicking away, and I am enjoying the luxury of popping my buttons--on purpose!

So all you moms to be (and I know quite a few): feel free to check it out:

http://www.ingridandisabel.com/bellaband.html

An Early Lullaby

It's been a few days now since we've been back from Hawaii, and it's back to focusing on reality. And right now, our reality is definitely making sure we are ready for this baby!

Suzie has been on me a little bit lately for not blogging enough. My only problem, as I tell her is that I have a hard time blogging without some good inspiration! Especially because I'm not the one carrying the baby, and not the one with the changing body and feeling the kicks and so on.

But the other day, I got the BEST inspiration. I walked upstairs to our bedroom to the cutest scene! Suzie had fallen asleep in our bed with headphones on her belly, with Anna Netrebko playing on her iPhone. The funniest thing was that she fell asleep to her own lullaby. I can only wonder if the baby did too?? Now, my choice of music may have been slightly different than the opera diva that Suzie chose, so I'll have to start putting my foot down and making the baby listen to some good classic rock as well.

Anyhow, it was so cute that I couldn't resist taking pictures. Hope you're not too embarrassed honey!

And So It Begins

I am 21 weeks today! I am feeling the baby kick quite frequently, and I am so looking forward for Matt to be able to feel it too. We are really beginning to anticipate the arrival of our little Jelly Bean--not that we weren't before, but it just feels more real now that I am actually able to feel something going on.

We had a big family get together this weekend with Matt's family, and one of the highlights (aside from the food, which I really seem to enjoy lately) was seeing our little niece Kali, who just turned 1 at the beginning of October. She is SUCH a doll. All smiley and cute, running around, giggling and being a cuddly joy. I must admit, I won't say that I officially want a girl, because really, I'd love a boy just as much, but that little darling sure made me think about all the fun baby clothes I could get. In fact, we received our first gift of baby clothes from Kali's mom and dad (thank you Jara and Andrew) and they were so precious, I had to take a picture of them. Plus, they are the first baby outfit I have ever owned that was meant for me, well, my baby.

I have refrained from buying ANYTHING baby thus far, for a couple of reasons. One, I don't want to go crazy. Making the choice NOT to find the sex out of the baby, means that I could buy a lot of neutral colours, but I don't want my baby to only have that as an option. My plan is to get the basics in neutral, and then, once we know what to really buy, have fun going outfit shopping. Two, as wonderful as Matt is, he is not a baby clothes shopper. Most of the time, I think he follows me into stores because he loves me, but really, he'd rather be looking at guitars. So, I need some sisterly, or at least a few female friends to shop with, and I just haven't had a lot of time to do that yet. But, thanks to the cute little yellow outfit, my clothing appetite has been wet, and it might be harder to resist those adorable little booties and onesies in the future.

An Amazing Vacation.

Well, as most of you know, Matt and I took a trip to Hawaii starting October 5th. We decided this was a good time to have one last trip to our favourite island State. The next time we go, we'll have a little Jelly Bean to take with us, which is really fun to think about too, but this was a fantastic way to have a little mommy-daddy time before we're actually Mommy and Daddy. The last week or so, we have seen quite a few changes in our little belly. I started the week feeling an occasional kick, and by the time we got on the flight home, I was being regularly pummeled from the inside--nothing too strong yet (Matt can't feel it yet) but way more frequent. Also, it appears my belly has grown quite a bit. I got home and can't do up most of my jeans, which is not how it was when I left. For those of you wanting to track my belly, I've included a pic of me on my way up Diamond Head.

It was so fun being in Hawaii with Matt. I couldn't go surfing, but we still had a blast snorkeling and swimming, hiking and sightseeing and spending time on the beach. I must say, I fell in love with Matt all over again every time we saw a kid/baby at the beach. All he could talk about was how fun it will be to bring our own little Jelly Bean to Hawaii to play--and trust me, he will!

Flying was pretty fun--I have never used a planes rest room so much. I kept trying to take little walks around the plane, but there isn't a lot of places you can go. We bought neck pillows because we had a really long flight from Chicago to Honolulu, and I was very happy that we had them.

I would say that one of my favourite thing about going to Hawaii was being able to wear a bathing suit with cleavage....I know, I know... perhaps a tad inappropriate, but seriously, I've waiting a long time for my girls to show off a little. It is so, so fun. So go ahead, judge me, but I'm still going to be beaming. :)

We hit 20 weeks on the trip--half-way---holy cow!!!!!!!

We Are Having A ....

Ha ha! Just kidding--I'm not going to tell you what we're having--in fact, I don't know, and neither does Matt, so don't bother asking. We had our final Obstetrical Ultrasound today, the one where you COULD find out the sex of the baby, but we held true and we told the tech right away that we didn't want to know. So other than reporting that our baby is a squirmy, stubborn, amazingly wonderful thing, we have no other news.

To start the ultrasound, as all mothers can tell you, you have to drink a Litre of water at least an hour before the appointment. No big deal, right? WRONG!!! I have never been so uncomfortable in my life. My pants, which are already a little tight, were excruciatingly snug with my bursting bladder. By the time the appointment rolled around, I was dying. My bladder felt so full, my teeth were floating. The tech laughed at me as I came in, like a duck, waddling to the exam table. And then, then the fun began. I laid on the table and the tech put the jelly on my belly (hee hee, a rhyme)--by the way, the jelly really is cold--and then started pushing. I-Yi-Yi--If I thought I had to go before, with the added pressure, I was about ready to have an accident right there on the table.

And then, I got distracted, and suddenly wasn't so worried about my achingly full bladder. There was Jelly Bean--bigger than before and looking beautiful. Matt was called in and Jelly Bean gave us a high-five on the screen, showed us a foot, and rolled around a bit. The heart was beating at a speedy 150 bpm, and apparently, the ventricles showed good symmetry. I can't believe Matt and I MADE this!

After Matt got to enjoy the show, he was escorted back to the waiting room, and the tech did a bunch more measurements. Stubborn little Jelly Bean wasn't the best at cooperating. Either JB was laying on the wrong side, or rolling around too much to get the measurements quickly. I couldn't help but think that Jelly Bean reminded me of how Matt talks on the phone--pacing and moving and not even close to sitting still. There is no mistaking who the daddy is!

Whoever little Jelly Bean is like, Matt and I are all a glow and so very happy. We are having a beautiful little Jelly Bean and that means more than I ever expected!