Week 18: Happy Fall!

This week of pregnancy involves a lot of favorites...favorite number (18), favorite(one of many) food: sweet potato, and my favorite season, Fall. (Although in Colorado, for some strange reason it doesn't want to go below 88 degrees, ugh.)

Week 18 was spent doing more of the same, constant researching for baby gear. This week however we started looking into birthing methods and classes. We are looking into the Bradley Method and have some teacher recommendations. We also had another appointment today, and met our first midwife at the practice, Julie. Our office has certified midwives and OB's, that work closely together. Both are always on deck at the delivery area in the hospital too. We talked to her about the Bradley Method, and just the difference between midwives and doctors, because we had no clue. Basically, she said midwives approach the birth as a natural thing happening to you, rather than a disaster waiting to happen. Also, they are there with you for more of the birth process. I absolutely loved her too! She was super nurturing and that's what I've been looking for. A lot of the doctors we've met so far, with the exception of one, have always seemed so rushed. I'm hoping Julie and Dr. Sweeney will be on call at the time of our delivery :). We are leaning towards sticking with Julie, since the Dr. said I am not a high risk and would be a good patient for a midwife.

We also got to hear the heartbeat of Baby Fingland, but no new pictures. It was going strong at 152bpm. In 3 weeks, we have THE BIG ultrasound. An hour long, taking all the measurements, and of course, finding out the gender if we are able. We are really excited and have marked the date--Tuesday, October 19th! Be ready for some phone calls!

I am hoping that any day now I get to feel the little one move around. I keep thinking I feel it, but then I'm not sure because I have no clue what it really feels like! We also made it out to see some Aspens in their Fall glory this weekend, so be sure to check out this web album while you're looking at the new belly pic this week...http://picasaweb.google.com/kfingland/201009FallLeaves#. Gorgeous! Posted one below as a preview!

Happy Fall!
K, B, B, and the Sweet Potato

Week 17: Addicted to Craigslist

Hi my name is Katie, and I have a problem. For the past 3 weeks, I have been addicted to Craigslist! I am so excited to find a "deal" that I check it daily, at least twice, for cribs, furniture, baby slings, rockers, and whatever else you can imagine. So this weekend, when I decided to take a "baby break" and just get some relaxation in, I tried to stay away from stalking out the greatest deal on Craisglist. I must say, this helped us be productive in other ways--organize the basement, fold the laundry, and more--but I couldn't stay away from baby stuff for too long. Instead of "craiglisting", I went to Lowe's and had them match our fabric swatches from our baby bedding, and painted the test colors on the nursery walls. We are leaning towards putting in some white chair-rail, painting the brown on the bottom and the green on top. So much for taking a "break" from baby decisions! (See photo below:)
Oh, and I think that means we finally decided on this bedding(boy or girl) from Land of Nod:http://www.landofnod.com/family.aspx?c=167&f=3916 We'll just accent it with orange (boy) and hot pink (girl).

Bailey getting tired from all the decisions... Looks a little darker on camera...

This week we also went to a "Just Between Friends" consignment sale--very large, full of stuff. However, since we haven't done our research yet on strollers, carseats, etc., and don't know the gender yet, it was kind of pointless being there. Until we found the book section. I absolutely love children's books and illustrators, and we both want to read to our kid, so we got really excited that we finally found something we could buy for the baby at this moment in time. Giving Bryan a list of authors/illustrators/titles to look for, we set forth in diving into the whole book section, scouring it over for deals. And boy did we find them! 20 or so books for 30 dollars! Including some favorites: 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' (board book and hard back), some Curious George, 'Green Eggs and Ham' and 'Horton Hears a Who', and much more--all in great condition! We celebrated by reading a couple of them that night to the baby, who now at 17 weeks can hear sounds outside the womb.

So, as Bryan studies for his PE (Professional Engineering) exam, the next month should be full of me starting some research on what to buy (bottles, strollers, car seats, rockers, and so on!). We are hoping to register towards the end of October/beginning of November, and I know Bryan is counting down the days until he gets to do this!

I will keep you updated on when we find a crib/anything on Craigslist too! :) Hope you all are doing well. The 2nd trimester has left me feeling more like myself and with lots more energy, except I still can't stay up past 10 anymore. Regardless, it is still good to be feeling better than the first trimester, and I've been blessed to have a pretty smooth pregnancy so far!

Lots of love,
2 crazy parents to be, the onion, and a dog who can't wait for more hands to pet her!

(Fun Facts on Week 17 Development: the bones are hardening and becoming complete in Baby Fingland. Gotta get in my calcium! Also the little one is somersaulting, rolling, and moving his/her joints now. Only a couple more weeks they say until I will feel all this movement. Can't wait!) Belly pic Week 17 uploaded in the photo album up top.

Week 16: Katie vs. The Burger

The craving of the week, as you might have guessed by the title, was a burger. The night before Grandma Fingland left, the 3 of us went to Ted's Montana Grill for the first time. I had already checked the menu prior to leaving, so I knew I was in for a treat of burger amazingness. However, little did I know that this would be a humongous slice of heaven, and that I would devour every last bite. A yummy, 1 inch buffalo burger, with bacon, was so amazing I was in my own little world. Bryan barely finished half of his as he stared in awe of me pounding my half pounder. (You can do a lot when you have a rubber band on your pants!) I've already checked out our next locale for when the burger craving hits again, this time a grass-fed beef burger, or more buffalo if I so dare. It has to be SOMEWHAT healthy...

Other than that we finished clearing out the nursery, and have picked out paint swatches and colors. I think I am going to put all our nursery ideas on the back burner for the next 4 weeks, until we find out the gender of the babe and I can finalize some things that are questionable. We are also going to a huge consignment sale this Thursday, and will hopefully find some furniture or other necessities there for cheaper. Our next appointment is Sept. 27th, and we will meet with a certified midwife this time and see how we like her and what the difference is between them and a Dr. (I am still confused!).

As far as baby Fingland goes, his/her development includes toenails and the scalp line this week. Apparently within the next 3 weeks, I am to get ready for a growth spurt! The avocado will start getting bigger, and with that, so will the belly bump. The belly pic up this week is of what I call "my afternoon belly" since I usually take the photos in the morning. After lunch and 2 nalgene bottles full of water, I get my "afternoon belly" :)

Finally, since I started it with a story about me pigging out, I'll end it with my proud exercise moment of the week. I was slightly afraid to run during the 1st trimester because of stories I had heard, so I had been doing tame walks for the past 3 months. However, yesterday Bryan and I went out for a run and I was able to go 25 minutes straight! Very excited, considering my goal was 1 song on my iPod, since I had no clue what to expect. It was definitely a little harder, but I'm hoping I could get a couple more of these in each week, along with my circuit exercises from a GREAT book, 'Super Fit Mama', before my belly gets too big.

Have a great week!
The Fingland's

Week 15: Diapers, Rocking Chairs, and Cribs-Oh My!

This past week was fun and exciting as we dove into the realm of "Stuff for the Baby". Grandpa and Grandma Fingland came into town on Thursday for the long weekend. We headed to Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday, and got to take my 15 week belly photo "off site" for the week. (I'll add the new pic each week to the album on the upper right).

After spending a day in the mountains relaxing, we decided to spend a day in the frenzy of shopping for the babe. We went to 3 different stores on Sunday, just to start to familiarize ourselves with what's out there (A LOT, that's what!). The first, we received the very informative spiel on how these "new" cloth diaper systems work. We have been really interested in trying that out and it seems like it would save tons of money. So that was helpful and gave us an idea of what we need in order to go that route. The next store included the best product names ever found. Among them were "Hooter Hiders" for nursing, and "Pee Pee Tee Pees" for all the "wee wee" (fabric cones for changing boys). I also found the cutest puffy gray vest for a boy, and amazing brightly colored tutus for a girl.

Finally, we headed to the Babies R Us superstore. It was a bit overwhelming, but we narrowed in on looking at cribs and rockers/gliders. We really would like an upholstered chair that is small sized and a rocker/recliner. However, Bryan has become "Goldilocks", only that no chairs fit just right. Too small, too short, can feel the rungs, doesn't work right...oh the joys of being married to a tall engineer. Double whammy! Of course, the only chair Bryan has liked is the crazy expensive one found at the boutique store, so I will be stalking Craigslist for one just in case.

Also, our nesting has officially started. Grandpa Fingland helped Bryan remove the built in desk from the downstairs office, which will now become the extra bedroom. Grandma Fingland is going to help us paint it, then move down the furniture so the nursery will be a blank canvas! I have picked out the bedding officially, and am now working on wall colors. We also ordered our bedroom furniture (finally), so we will have nightstands to put baby toys and bottles on in the middle of the night. Super excited! I will take some pictures and post next week to show all the changes. Hope everyone is well.

Love,
Tight Pants, Goldilocks, and the little Orange (what a great color! :)