Sweet Pea is a SHE Pea!!

That's right...the verdict is in...Sweet Pea is a SHE Pea!!

As indicated previously, Jeromy and I have anxiously awaited our 20-week ultrasound for weeks now. The appointment finally came a week ago today (March 24th). We had decided from the beginning that we wanted to find out Sweet Pea's gender, so this was an important pregnancy milestone. I know some people don't agree with this...but it was the right decision for us.

That morning we headed to the doctor's office with much anticipation. As usual, I was nervous that something might be wrong...Jeromy as always was there to reassure me that everything would be fine (he's so smart).

So there we were, in the dark exam room watching the monitor screen, eagerly waiting to see our little Sweet Pea, and find out if it was a She Pea or a He Pea. There Sweet Pea was, filling the screen and looking SO much more like a baby than even a few weeks ago (the last ultrasound was in mid-February). Jeromy and I watched amazed as the tech. pointed out baby's heart, spine, feet, and other parts. It's so incredible to see all of those things. Oh the wonder of our amazing bodies!! I can't even explain how amazed we both were as we watched our baby in there. Big smiles all around. :-)

The tech. busily took pictures, letting us know what she was seeing in the process. Some funny things of note: Sweet Pea had the hiccups the WHOLE time, making it a little difficult for the tech. to get real clear shots. Sure enough, every few seconds you could see Sweet Pea's whole body twitch. Poor thing. Also, at one point the tech. noted that Sweet Pea, "was gyrating her butt." You could totally tell! She was shakin' it. YES! We have a dancing baby already. I'm so proud! :-)

After several shots of various parts of Sweet Pea's anatomy, it was time to have the gender revealed. "It's a GIRL!" the tech. exclaimed. I think both Jeromy and I were shocked! SO many people had been convinced that Sweet Pea was a boy. I think that was what we were both expecting. Of course, we were both incredibly overjoyed amidst our shock. I asked the tech. if she was sure, and she explained that Sweet Pea was not shy, and gave us a real clear view. Later in the appointment, she gave us a few more views that confirmed that she was for sure a girl.

Another funny thing throughout the appointment is that the tech. kept saying that Sweet Pea was super stubborn. There are certain shots that the tech. is required to get, and apparently Sweet Pea was refusing to move to allow the tech. to get the shots she needed. Throughout the appointment, the tech. had to lower the head of the bed a couple times, shake my belly, and even have me go to the bathroom in attempts to get sweet Sweet Pea to move her cute little behind. Eventually, she cooperated and the tech. got all the shots she needed. It does make me laugh though...stubborn, and already shaking her behind? That's my girl, for sure!!

After the appointment, we made lots of phone calls. The only person who really wasn't surprised by our news of our little girl was my dad, who had predicted girl the whole time! Good guess, Dad!

In the week that we have found out that our dear Sweet Pea is a She Pea, her wardrobe has expanded greatly! We have received nice gifts from many (thank you, everyone), and have gone on a few "shopping sprees." The most notable was a fun shopping day with fellow mamas Jackie and Alisson. I found out about this HUGE garage-type sale sponsored by a mom's of multiples group in Eagan. The sale did not disappoint - tons of cute clothes for great prices. I made it out of there spending about $35 and getting tons of cute clothes for Sweet Pea - including two adorable sets of Osh Kosh overalls (Jeromy and I had determined this was a must for our children early on in our married life). Jackie, Alisson, and I (and babies Gavin and Megan) got to enjoy lunch and conversation afterwards, which was wonderful!

We also got a bunch more clothes from Jeromy's mom and step-dad, and they generously purchased our crib! We can't wait to put it together and start seeing the nursery take shape. We've decided on colors - lavendar, sage green, and light brown. Now, to set aside time to paint!

Things are starting to shape up, and fall into place. And it's so much more fun now to have the correct pronoun to use. I love our baby girl SO much already. She is already a loved little baby by many too. Jeromy talks to her daily, and gives her hugs (which basically means putting his hands around my belly and giving a little squeeze. Dear friends and family like you ask how she's doing on a regular basis. She is so loved! Thank you for loving us, and thank you for loving her! As always, more to come!

Dear Sweet Pea...

Dear Sweet Pea,
We have lived connected, you dependent on me for several months now. We have literally shared every moment of every day. You breathe what I breathe. You eat what I eat. Your heart beats quickly amidst mine.

And yet there's so much I don't know about you...so many questions that have yet to be answered. Who will you look like? What will your personality be? Will you be tenacious and sensitive like your mom or quietly steady and reserved like your dad? Will you have mommy's brown eyes or daddy's bluish grayish green?

I can't adequately express (or even comprehend) how much of a joy it will be to finally meet you, and even more to watch you grow and reveal to the world who you are. It nearly brings me to tears just thinking about it now. I can't wait, Sweet Pea. What fun we will have...me, you, and your daddy. You are and will always be a beloved child of God, and a beloved child of ours.

Your daddy and I WILL find out one piece about you tomorrow, and we can hardly wait! Tomorrow morning we have our 20 week ultrasound scheduled, and we will get to find out if you are boy or a girl (a Sweet HE Pea or a Sweet SHE Pea as we've been saying). Although this piece of information will not change how we feel about you or how much we already love you, it's a significant piece of information, and a way for us to start to know you better.

I think I've been feeling you move around in there...and I can't wait for you to move more. Soon your daddy will be able to feel you too, which will be so special for us.

We love you, Sweet Pea. We loved you from the moment we knew you were inside me. We talk about you a lot, and even talk to you. We think about what we will name you, who you will be, and how much you will forever change our lives. We look forward to "seeing" you tomorrow...and learning more about who you are.

I love you, Sweet Pea. Now and forever.
Love,
Mommy

Ode to Maternity Jeans

So I think I forgot to mention that last weekend I had a bit of a shopping spree...for maternity clothes. I have had mixed feelings about maternity clothes from the beginning. For those who know me well, you know that I am pretty much the ultimate cheap-skate (I am my father's daughter). I don't enjoy spending money (particularly on myself). I stress about where my money goes, and am very frugal in my financial decisions. (Just today, in fact, my wonderful husband is "forcing me" to go out for lunch...which I hardly ever do. He said I deserve it, and insist that I go and not feel guilty about it...he's the best.)

So it's a bit overwhelming to me, the forever cheap-skate, to be faced with essentially having to create a whole new wardrobe that I will only wear for a few months (unless of course I save things to wear for future pregnancies). I have borrowed a few pieces here and there, and have looked online for used stuff (without much luck).

Last weekend, I set out to check out 2 maternity consignment stores in the Twin Cities. Nine, which is in downtown Hopkins, and Bellies to Babies in Richfield. Seriously, folks. Why aren't maternity consignment stores more popular?! The concept is GENIUS!

Anyways, to be honest, I was disappointed by the consignment stores. I did manage to find 2 relatively well priced pieces at each store, but overall I wasn't impressed. I found that the experience was very similar to going to most other middle-range consignment stores...very well worn items, many of them apparently shrunk (which is REALLY not helpful for maternity clothes), and most pretty well out of style. Granted, every once in awhile there was a good item...but it seemed to be the exception, rather than the rule.

But, like I said, I managed to find 4 pieces between the two stores - a jean skirt, a pair of khaki shorts, a pair of khaki capris, and a pretty top. After the two consignment stores, I met up with my mom at Kohl's. It just so happened that Kohl's was having a big sale on their maternity clothes...and my mom had a coupon for an additional 30% off everything! They had really nice stuff, so we stocked up! My mom generously offered to buy 4 pieces for me. She got me jeans, black pants, and two nice tops. I also bought myself a couple other tops. I feel set for awhile! It was really weird to try on maternity stuff. It is still really big and long on me...it's hard to imagine that I will fit into some of the stuff I got. My mom is convinced that not only will I grow into it - but grow out of it as well! We'll see.

Anyways, a lot of back story to get to the title of the post...Ode to Maternity Jeans. After stocking up, I decided to try some of the stuff out (like I said, the tops don't really fit...but the bottoms are okay because they are so stretchy). I tried the jeans, and immediately decided that my new maternity jeans are AWESOME. They have the stretchy elastic band, rather than the full blown maternity panel, so they are super comfy. It's almost like sweatpant jeans! Sweet! I'm sure, like many other things with pregnancy, there will come a point where I'm super sick of maternity jeans, but now is not the time!

For now, I enjoy not having the unbuttoned button of my jeans dig into me, with the added fabric of the B-band, and constantly feeling I have to rearrange everything to make it look decent. So for now...loving the maternity jeans! So comfy. So easy to wear! Yay!

18 week Review

Almost halfway through already! It's really hard to believe. As of late, I have been feeling MUCH better, which has greatly improved my attitude and spirit. I've been feeling much less nauseous, have had a bit more energy, and am generally feeling "more like myself." I still have waves of nausea and fatigue every once in awhile, but it's MUCH less often and severe than it was even just a couple weeks ago.

I'm feeling so good, in fact, that some days I find myself almost forgetting that I'm pregnant! I'm getting anxious to feel Sweet Pea, find out the gender, and start looking pregnant (I kind of am now, but I still feel like I still just look plump, rather than "with bump.") I keep telling myself that soon enough I will be looking and feeling huge, feeling uncomfortable, and missing the days when I was wearing regular clothes, able to move around normally, etc. And, as always, I am constantly reminding myself what a blessing this is, and how incredible my body is that it can do this.

Next week is our big ultrasound, where we will find out Sweet Pea's gender. We can't WAIT!! I feel like once we know that, and once I start feeling Sweet Pea, everything will feel a bit more real. A co-worker friend (who is due 2 weeks before me) and I were chatting recently about how this is kind of a weird "limbo stage" of pregnancy. I'm feeling better, so I don't have the daily (hourly) reminder that there's something growing inside me, I don't feel Sweet Pea moving around, I don't really look pregnant (and further, people don't really know unless I've told them). It just doesn't feel real yet. It helps to talk with other people (like said co-worker) who can relate, because it's easy to feel like I'm just weird!

Jeromy and I have been slowly starting to pick out "baby gear" for Sweet Pea, the most significant being a couple weeks ago when we picked out nursery furniture! I admit, I was a little apprehensive...I mean...there are so many choices! And so much of it is just online. And then there's the question of what types of pieces do you get? A crib, obviously. But a changing table? A dresser? Bookshelf? Bedside table?

So we decided to stop at Babies R Us after church, just to see what we could find. Luckily, Jeromy and I have VERY similar tastes in furniture, and seem to share a similar vision of what we want Sweet Pea's nursery to look like. This is the furniture we have chosen:

We love it! We both really like mission style furniture, and feel like this furniture really fits that style...as well as the style of furniture we've used in the rest of our house.

We also really like the color of the wood. Very classic. We haven't purchased the pieces yet (I think we'll hold off a bit...get some painting done, etc.), but I'm really eager to get them, and start to see the nursery shape up. This is still kind of crazy...we're having

a baby!!

Not much else to report right now...stay tuned next week for the reveal of Sweet Pea's gender, as well as a big sale that I will be attending (and hopefully finding some great deals!)

Happy 28th, Jeromy!!

Last week we celebrated Jeromy's 28th birthday! I tend to get a little sappy on birthdays, because I think it's such a wonderful time to celebrate that person, and the importance they have in your life. And let me tell you, this guy has GREAT importance in my life. It's crazy to think that this is the 9th birthday I've celebrated with Jeromy! Time flies...

Jeromy's birthday plans started long before his actual birthday. Jeromy has been really itching to get a Wii. And when I say really itching, I mean REALLY itching...since about the time it came out. I (being the painfully frugal and practical wife that I am), held him off for awhile. After Christmas, he started getting the itch again. He had plans of how we could split our Christmas money so that he could get a Wii. Finally, I broke down and suggested that I buy him a Wii for his birthday. He agreed that that was a good plan.

So a couple days before his birthday, we paid a visit to Game Stop and bought Jeromy a Wii and a few games. I admit, it felt a little silly to buy a 28-year-old a video game for his birthday...but I also have to admit that the Wii is pretty cool!

On his birthday, we enjoyed a date together at Famous Dave's (see picture). I was feeling good enough (yay!) to genuinely enjoy the food I got. After our lovely dinner, we hurried home to host a video game party! It was fun to celebrate with friends.

Jeromy Steven Carlson, I am so thankful for you. I am so honored to have spent the last 8+ years together, and look forward to many, many, MANY more. I am honored that you have chosen to spend your life with me. And I'm honored that you have helped to give me the best gift - a child! Can't wait to celebrate next year with Sweet Pea by our sides!! Love you more than I know how to say!

16 Week Review

I can hardly believe it, but I'm wrapping up my 16th week of being pregnant! I suppose I'd liken it to similar major life events, where I have a hard time remembering time before I was pregnant, and at the same time it feels like just yesterday that we found out! Weird.

Things have been going better overall for the last week or so. I have slowly had a bit more energy, have been able to eat more normal foods at increasingly normal increments, and have being feeling more like "myself." Last Friday we had dinner at my parents house, and I was overjoyed to be able to eat my most normal meal since sometime in early January or perhaps even late December. We had Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, peas, and salad...and it all tasted good and went down pretty well too! To me, it was like a FEAST! It's been odd, because instead of feeling nauseous BEFORE a meal, I have started to feel quesy AFTER the fact (presumably because I'm eating too much after having eaten so little?).

I have to be careful to not push things too hard...both food-wise and energy-wise. It's easy to feel really good when I haven't been feeling good at all, and forget that I AM still pregnant, and DO still need to be gentle with myself. Jeromy's been great at picking up the slack a bit at home, and putting up with my unpredictable eating and well-being. I'm a lucky woman to have him.

I had a check-up with my nurse, Christine, this morning. Very routine. Weight check, blood pressure check... weight is still a little low, but she assures me the weight will come (especially now as I'm feeling better)...blood pressure was great. A check on Sweet Pea's heartbeat (nice and strong, in the 140s, which is consistent with what it's been)...and a quick blood draw.

Funny story about the heartbeat check... Christine found the heartbeat right away, and we smiled at each other as we listened. I still can't really tell exactly what I'm hearing, so I rely on her explanation. As we were listening to the wonderful wooshing sound she said, "I'm hearing both heartbeats." I panicked for a second, but she quickly clarified she meant Sweet Pea's...and mine. Whew! Don't think I'm ready for two just yet!

We still anxiously await our big ultrasound in three weeks to find out if Sweet Pea is a "Sweet She Pea" or a "Sweet He Pea." I can't wait. It was also exciting to schedule most of my doctor's appointments today - I'm scheduled from now until mid-July...which is only a few weeks before Sweet Pea's arrival! It makes it feel a little more real to have all of those appointments scheduled!

I'm noticing I'm slowly getting a little bigger. I still don't think I "look pregnant," but I can feel things bulging a bit (and my pants are getting tighter and tighter too). I look forward to the coming weeks where I start to look pregnant instead of just chubby.

Christine got me excited today as she talked about the month to come...feeling better, looking pregnant, feeling Sweet Pea (!!!), and finding out Sweet Pea's gender. So much to look forward to in the coming weeks!

Here are a few pictures from 16 weeks. Not much of a belly yet...but it's getting there!

A Boy...or A Girl...that is the Question...

Even though we have our "big" ultrasound scheduled, and Jeromy and I are both set on finding out the sex of the baby, I find that it still occupies my mind... a lot.

Everyone seems to have their opinion of what the "sure fire" method is to determine if it's a boy or a girl. What I've discovered is that it's all...well...crap.

And yet it STILL bugs me. Sweet Pea's heartbeat has been consistently over 140...which says girl. But my hair has been growing faster than normal...which says boy. Then again, I've been pretty nauseous, and it tends to be worse at night, which says girl. Although the "ring test" says boy. The Chinese gender calendar says boy. And a silly test about the gender of your first pet matching your first baby (which consequently holds true for all three babies in our faith group) says boy.

So I guess there are more signs that point to boy...but they are still all crap. Seriously. Everything I've read says there's no real predictor, other than seeing it for yourself. Which we'll do. In just over 3 weeks. So why can't I just be patient and not think about all the bogus tests??!

I think the answer is that I'm just so DARN excited. I used to think I could wait for the surprise. Now I have no idea how people do. Kudos to them for the self-restrain... but I can't do it.

I think knowing if Sweet Pea is a boy or girl will help make it real. And for me and Jeromy (planners, particularly me), we'll be able to start making purchases, decorating, registering, etc.

Stay tuned...the answer will follow shortly. :-) Until then, I will try to ignore the old wives' tales.