Saturday, August 28, 2010

New Built-in Bookcase

I'm very proud of this project. It was mostly my plan from start to finish, Dave just helped me execute my vision ;)

Before: We had this creepy hole in the wall lined with cedar. It was a lot of storage space, but most was inaccessible because it was too deep and too high. So it functioned more as an ugly clutter-collector.



During:

At this point I had removed the old trim, and installed one of the new bookcases.



After:

I think the pictures speak for themselves. You can see a little knob in the left bookcase. This is a door so that all that space behind them can still be used to store items that don't get used often.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Ultrasound photos

Finally got a chance to put these up :)



This is our Sophie just before sucking her thumb.



And here is our little lady showing off her long legs.. it must be an optical illusion because she isn't getting long legs from daddy or me.

We are going out to buy a new mattress tonight because my lower back is suffering. I wake up sorer than I go to sleep, and I'm just not used to that. Hooray new mattress! Boo unexpected expense!

Also, we have begun looking into childbirth classes. After reading his book, we are going to go with the Bradley Method, which focuses on having the baby as a couple, with your husband acting as your coach and main support. We are going all natural baby!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

It's a girl!

Had our 19 week anatomy scan ultrasound yesterday :)

Sophia looks healthy and is growing right on schedule. She weighs in at a whopping 10 ounces.

I heard that a little caffiene or sugar helps the ultrasound tech because it gets the baby moving so they can get good angles during the scan. So our little Sophia was all hopped up on Mountian Dew ;) Not too much of course.

It was great to get good news yesterday. This weekend did not treat us well.

We tried to go camping on Saturday and after a bumpy car ride on a dirt road, we are pretty sure I knocked a kidney stone loose and within an hour I couldn't walk or move for the pain. Spent the night in the ER.

I had what they assumed was a kidney stone attack a few weeks ago too. Most painful experience ever, both times. I don't have a history of them, but they can't confirm their prescence while I'm pregnant because they would normally do a CAT scan and we don't want to expose Sophia to radiation.

Basically, I have to either hope it goes away on its own, or deal with it once Sophia has arrived. Hopefully I can avoid anymore of the painful attacks.

At least I got to listen to Sophia on the heartbeat moniter in the hospital for several hours. I love just being with her. When we can hear her heartbeat or see her on the ultrasound screen, I feel like we are spending time with her. :P

Friday, August 13, 2010

Just checking in. Have gotten a lot accomplished in the house recently.

Dave finished the tub drain last night so I got to take a warm relaxing bath :)
It was heavenly. I must say, nothing is nicer than a brand new clean bath tub.

I have been working on completing the built-in cabinets in the kitchen in what was the "hole". I'll post before and current pics when I get home tonight. I'm quite happy with our progress.

Pregnancy symptoms have gotten weird. Still have indigestion, a lot. Now though lower back aches have started to plague me, which is quite distracting at work. I read that as your uterus expands, your center of gravity changes and that can cause your back to protest. Little Sophia wants to by my center of gravity, which is only fitting because soon she will be the center of David and I's universe.

Here is the weird symptom though: I itch. Big time. Like, going out of my mind itch. The bottom of my feet and the palms of my hand itch something terrible. Hopefully this symptom goes away soon. It's maddening sometimes.

Also, I think I'm going to have to do away with my contacts. My eyes itch too and my contacts are becoming more and more uncomfortable. My darling husband took me to order glasses yesterday. Hopefully they are ready soon, I can't wait to give my eyes a break.

Don't get me wrong, I'm loving being pregnant. I can't wait to start feeling Sophie :)

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Marriage Advice

At the wedding we got to add to a list of advice for the bride and groom. Here was ours (basically):

Remember that you are both on the same team. In the game of life, your spouse should be the best teammate you ever have and you should be the best teammate he/she will ever have.

When you disagree it isn't about who wins or loses, because you're playing together, not against one another. It is about coming to a decision you can both live with. Sometimes you can compromise, but don't be sour if you don't take anything from the decision. The victory isn't in getting more of your way, it's in working together and staying on the same team while you reach your and your spouse's goals.

If the topic of disagreement isn't incredibly important to you, let it go, let your spouse have his/her way if it means the world to him/her and you can live with it without any grief.

Don't fight over the unimportant stuff, and most of the day to day quarrels between couples who fight are over issues that aren't big enough to be issues at all.

If your hubby wants you to go to his softball games, go, cause it will make him happy, even if you hate spending hours in the hot sun. If your wife wants that new pair of expensive shoes, let her splurge every once in awhile, cause it will make her happy even if isn't necessarily in the budget.

It isn't about being right, it's about working together so that you're both happy most of the time. :)

Good luck Benji & Christina!


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Gdiapers

Since it was brought up a few times this weekend and since so many people have given me weird looks, I'd like to explain our decision to use Gdiapers on our baby.

Gdiapers are a cloth disposable hybrid diaper. The system consists of a waterproof diaper cover, a plastic waterproof liner, and an insert ( which can be washable cloth insert or a flushable/disposable insert ).




You can read more at GDiapers101

We found this system after tons of research into cloth diapers. We want to use cloth diapers for several reasons including:

1) We are uncomfortable with the amount of chemicals found in conventional disposables.

2) Disposables are very expensive and washing/reusing cloth will save us money.

3) Disposables are not good for the environment. It takes hundreds of years for them to breakdown. Gdiapers disposables break down in a few weeks if thrown out or composted.

4) Diaper rash is far less common in babies who wear cloth diapers.

5) Gdiapers are just so darn cute.




Dave and I have a personal belief that in US, convenience is often the reason people choose to do things the way they do, even if it isn't the healthiest or most environmentally friendly choice. (like eating fast food instead of cooking a homemade meal).

We believe that just because a solution is the
most convenient doesn't mean it is the best choice. Sometimes the best solution involves hard work or consumes more time. That's ok with us ;)

I'll keep everyone posted on how this works out for us!




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Getting more excited by the minute!

I'm on my way home from Dave's cousin's wedding in Beaver Falls, PA (6 hr drive.. Yuck!).

My favorite part was all the babies! Dave is one of the youngest of ALOT of cousins and most of his cousins have several kids. They are all beautiful and smart and hilarious. Each time one said something clever I got more and more excited that our little one will be joining us soon.

Sophia, (or Oliver if my intuition is wrong), I can't wait to hold you in my arms and kiss your face. I can't wait to show you to the world and to see your smile. I've never been so excited in my life, and I love you so much already that I can't imagine how much my love will grow when I first see you.

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