Audrey's Wardrobe

Thanks to the awesome generosity of my mom and my sister, Audrey already has a nice jump start on her wardrobe. I'm not going to lie; part of the reason that I really wanted a girl is because their clothes are super cute! Don't get me wrong - I'm excited about having a daughter to do girly things with, but I really do love how sweet baby girl clothes are. I'm so blessed that every time I see my mom or my sister they have some more clothes for Audrey! My mom bought me (or Audrey, I should say) a couple of outfits and some of the most precious baby booties that I have ever seen. I still had them lying out on the counter to show Michel, so I decided to take pictures and post them.

I can't wait until these clothes have our sweet little baby girl in them!!

Baby Bump: We're Halfway There!!

How far along are you? 20 weeks

How far are you measuring? Doctor said she looks great!

How big is your baby? She measured 7 inches long and 7 ounces a little over a week ago

What major developments is your baby going through right now? She's swallowing a lot more now and producing meconium to help produce dirty diapers (for Daddy to change!)

Heartbeat: 158 bpm

Weight gain: +10 lbs....doctor could not be happier with it!! (so far I've only noticed my tummy getting bigger which is good!)

Maternity clothes: I'm wearing maternity clothes most of the time...Some of the maternity clothes that I received are a little big for me, so I went back to wearing my regular pants with the Bella Band 

Stretch marks: No, not yet :)

Movement: I have started feeling her move. I can generally only feel it if I'm still; it's still not strong enough for me to feel, or for me to notice, if I'm up and moving (like when I'm at work). I can't wait until her kicks are strong enough for Michel to feel!

Sleep: I generally get up twice to go to the bathroom, and I discovered that I can go to sleep on my stomach but I wake up on my side, so I think Audrey is telling me that I'm squishing her! Last night sleeping on my stomach started getting really uncomfortable, so I spent the majority of the night on my side.

Gender predictions: It's a precious baby girl!! Audrey Grace Zoutendam

What I miss: This week has been really good so there's not much that I feel like I'm missing...

What I'm most looking forward to: Six more weeks of school until summer vacation!! Once summer vacation starts Michel and I can get our nursery set up, and my sister is going to come spend a few days with us and help me create some Pinterest and Etsy-inspired crafts!!!

How are you feeling: Really good! I've definitely started experiencing the crazy, weird pregnancy dreams that you hear people talk about. 

Baby Registry Items

Last Wednesday after our sonogram appointment, Michel and I started registering for baby items! It was exciting, and yet it was a little overwhelming all at the same time. Lots of questions came up that I would love input on:

1. Do you register for items that you don't care which ones you get (burp cloths and bibs specifically)? We haven't registered for any so far because I told Michel I don't want to stress people out to find that one specific bib, and he brought up a good point that if bibs aren't on a registry will people think we don't need any at all?

2. Do you register for items that aren't yet usable (sippy cups, snack cups, etc), or did you mainly stick with bottles and baby items?

3. Nursing supplies - my plan is to give breastfeeding a shot. I know there are definite health benefits, and it's definitely cheaper! Since I won't be working I would love to be able to breastfeed! However, there have been breastfeeding issues in my family (low milk supply) that have really made it difficult, and I have no problem going to formula if need be. Anyways, I don't know much about breast pumps, or anything breastfeeding-related.

4. Nipples and bottles - we only registered for the biggest bottles after I heard some moms talk about how they wished they had done that from the getgo, and it makes sense to me. Is there a difference in bottle brands because one was significantly cheaper and it wasn't an off-brand; it was one I've heard of, but I can't remember what it was now. Nipples - how many extra did you have, and what speed were they (fast flow, etc.)?

I think that's it for now. Thanks for any help you can give me!!

Baby Bump: Week 19

How far along are you? 19 weeks

How far are you measuring? Baby measured at 17w5d when I went to the doctor on Wednesday at 18w3d. Not gonna lie...I was a little concerned, but I was told that later sonograms aren't always that accurate, and babies in the womb grow at different rates just like once they're born...hoping that means our girl got the petite gene!

How big is your baby? She measured 7 inches long and 7 ounces

What major developments is your baby going through right now? All of her senses are developing...babycenter.com suggests I start singing to her, but I think I'll spare us all from having to hear that! 

Heartbeat: 158 bpm

Weight gain: +8 lbs....OK, earlier this week I got scared because I hadn't gained any weight from my last OB appt 3 weeks ago...then I gained about 2 lbs this week and I'm worrying that I'm gaining too much weight too quickly. There's just no pleasing me! 

How far along are you? 18 weeks

How far are you measuring? Right on track hopefully....I go to the doctor on Wednesday!

How big is your baby? About 5 1/2 inches long, and weighs about 7 ounces

What major developments is your baby going through right now? Ears have moved to their final position. If baby's a girl her fallopian tubes have formed and are in place; if baby's a boy his genitals are visible.

Heartbeat: 171 bpm at our last sono...again, we'll know for sure on Wednesday!

Total weight gain/loss: +6 lbs

Maternity clothes: I'm wearing maternity clothes most of the time...I wear maternity bottoms 100% of the time; tops - I still wear my regular tops and they're still comfortable and fit. I did try on some of my regular pants that I own that are made from stretchy material and they still fit, though they are getting snug where I fasten them. 

Stretch marks: No!

Movement: I have started feeling her move. I can generally only feel it if I'm still; it's still not strong enough for me to feel, or for me to notice, if I'm up and moving (like when I'm at work). I can't wait until her kicks are strong enough for Michel to feel!

Sleep: I generally get up twice to go to the bathroom, and I discovered that I can go to sleep on my stomach but I wake up on my side, so I think Audrey is telling me that I'm squishing her!

Gender predictions: It's a precious baby girl!! Audrey Grace Zoutendam

What I miss: Being able to go longer than 30 minutes without going to the bathroom! It doesn't happen all the time, but I went for a power walk this afternoon (in my defense I had had quite a bit to drink earlier that afternoon), but I couldn't go more than 10 minutes away without feeling like I needed to pee again! It was ridiculous....

What I'm most looking forward to: Six more weeks of school until summer vacation!! Once summer vacation starts Michel and I can get our nursery set up, and my sister is going to come spend a few days with us and help me create some Pinterest and Etsy-inspired crafts!!!

How are you feeling: Really good! I've had weird things happen here and there. Yesterday I got up to put my breakfast dishes away and I felt like my heart was racing and I started feeling a little dizzy! I laid down for about 10 minutes and it all went away completely and never came back. Luckily I live with a paramedic, and he has paramedic textbooks and we found that random, short dizzy spells are not uncommon, nor are they worrisome. I've also had dull pain in my left side that feels like dull menstrual cramps that I assume are round ligament pains. Not trying to complain; I'm just documenting everything!

Meet Audrey Grace Zoutendam

April 17, 2013 is the day that I'd been waiting for since New Year's Day when I found out that I was pregnant - we were going to find out the sex of our sweet baby! It wasn't truly a surprise because we had gotten a sono done at 12 1/2 weeks and the doctor said she was about 80% positive that it was a girl - turns out she was right!

I took the entire day off of work because I wanted to make a special day of it with Michel. We got a great report from the doctor, and I cannot thank God enough that not only has he blessed us with a little girl, he's blessed us with a HEALTHY baby girl! The doctor said that she was measuring right on track and was able to get a measurement of her length and weight. She weighs about 7 oz. and is about 7 inches long. This sonogram was so much different than any of the other ones that I'd had done because they were measuring all areas of her head, heart, etc. She wasn't cooperating with her chin angle (hers was up, the doctor wanted it down more) so he kept poking me to get her to move her head. She finally did, but it makes me wonder if she's going to be stubborn like her daddy because it took a lot of poking to get her to move! She was pretty chill during the entire thing, so maybe I should have had some caffeine or sugar to get her moving. Luckily, the doctor saw everything he needed to see including a clear view between her legs when she mooned the camera!

This is her butt with her legs spread apart! 

Here's a shot of her profile:

Seeing her on camera just makes me anxious to see her in person! What will she look like, what kind of personality will she have??

After our appointment Michel and I went to Jason's Deli for their awesome salad bar and of course, their free frozen yogurt! After that we went to Target and began registering for items. I got sidetracked with all the adorable baby girl clothes...I want them all, but I know it's not practical to buy cute newborn outfits because she'll be sleeping so much. I did buy some adorable ladybug pj's at the garage sale that Michel and I went to last weekend. Can't wait to see Audrey in them :)

About a month ago I realized that our gender sono was occurring on a Wednesday, and we always get together with our small group on Wednesday nights. We also trade off who will bring dessert, so I knew that this would be the perfect opportunity. I could do a small gender reveal with our dessert. I'm not a big cake fan, so I decided to dye vanilla ice cream with food coloring (I love ice cream!). So I ordered these cups online to put individual servings of ice cream in.

When they opened the lid they would see the pink ice cream inside.

Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the group, but we had a lot of fun telling our sweet friends about our little girl! Audrey is already so loved by our friends and family...it will be a long 21 weeks until we meet her!

Baby Z Week 18!

How far along are you? 18 weeks

How far are you measuring? Right on track hopefully....I go to the doctor on Wednesday!

How big is your baby? About 5 1/2 inches long, and weighs about 7 ounces

What major developments is your baby going through right now? Ears have moved to their final position. If baby's a girl her fallopian tubes have formed and are in place; if baby's a boy his genitals are visible.

Heartbeat: 171 bpm at our last sono...again, we'll know for sure on Wednesday!

Total weight gain/loss: +6 lbs

Maternity clothes: I'm wearing maternity clothes most of the time...I wear maternity bottoms 100% of the time; tops - I still wear my regular tops and they're still comfortable and fit

Stretch marks: No!

Sleep: I still get up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom, but I deal with it. It probably doesn't help that I'm guzzling water all day and all night (including the middle of the night), but I get so thirsty!!

Gender predictions: I'm not answering this since I have a pretty good idea what the sex of the baby is :) Tune in Wednesday or Thursday and I'll finally reveal it!!

What I miss: Not much

What I'm most looking forward to: Gender sono on Wednesday!!! Also, this past week at school I turned in all of my papers for resignation, so I'm also really excited that starting next school year I will be a stay-at-home mom!

How are you feeling: I'm feeling good!!

**Update: I feel pretty confident in saying that I've been feeling the baby move today!! It's only happened 3 times today, but I have felt, what I can only describe as, carbonation bubbles in my tummy. I noticed it first at church when I had bent over in my seat to get my water out of my purse. Now I notice if I bend over like that I can sometimes get some movement. I guess I'm squishing the baby, and he/she doesn't like it :)**

I love weekends!!

Like any teacher, I live for weekends! And my kids that I have this year are wonderful, and I enjoy seeing them each day, but it is nice to have a break to decompress. Saturday was full of fun. We got up early to hit up the Woodbridge neighborhood garage sale. Unfortunately, a lot of people had that idea and we ended up striking out. I bought a super cute pajama set for $0.75 and a Bumbo from our next door neighbors (who were also having a garage sale) for $10! Then I met up with a friend that I used to go to church with for lunch and we had a great time catching up. Michel and I went out for dinner, and just had fun having a laid-back day.

Today, Michel and I enjoyed a wonderful day at church seeing our friends. In Sunday School, our teacher is starting a new series on parenting and I am so excited to learn about how to be a godly parent raising a godly child. I really love Sunday afternoons because they are almost always fun, lazy days! Even Ninja likes lazy days. He and I had been playing (I tossed his squirrel and he would either jump and catch it or run after it). After about 10 minutes or so, this is what our play session turned into:

He looks very vicious :)

For dinner tonight, Michel decided to make us a home-made pizza. I don't think I've ever had one that was home-made, so I'm pretty excited to try it out! Here's my awesome man hard at work in the kitchen :)

This is why I love my weekends :)

Baby Z: Week 17

Photobombed by my cat!!

How far along are you? 17 weeks

How far are you measuring? Right on track!

How big is your baby? About 5 inches long, and weighs about 5 ounces

What major developments is your baby going through right now? The skeleton of the baby is changing from soft cartilage to bone; umbilical cord is growing thicker

Heartbeat: 171 bpm

Total weight gain/loss: +5.5 lbs

Maternity clothes: I'm wearing maternity clothes most of the time...I love them, they are so comfortable!

Stretch marks: No!

Sleep: I still get up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom, but I deal with it. It probably doesn't help that I'm guzzling water all day and all night (including the middle of the night), but I get so thirsty!!

Gender predictions: I'm not answering this since I have a pretty good idea what the sex of the baby is :) 

What I miss: Not much

What I'm most looking forward to: Gender sono on April 17th!!!

How are you feeling: Pretty good...I've just gotten over my third sinus infection (third one I've had since being pregnant that is), so I'm tired of continually getting sick, but I know that it could be much worse, so I'm trying not to complain :)

Happy Birthday, Uncle Jerry!

At the end of March, we all drove down to the tiny town of Brashear, TX to surprise my uncle for his 60th birthday party! My cousins had driven in from Missouri and College Station, TX. I don't get to see them all that often, so I was excited to celebrate my uncle's birthday while seeing my cousins. The weekend was a bit chillier than anybody expected. We were having a hot dog cookout complete with some s'mores! We had so much fun!!!

We were hiding in my uncle's welding shop and he had been told that he had a present from my cousins out in the shop that was too big to bring in the house. We jumped out and yelled, "surprise!" when he walked in.

The fire outside kept us warm, but my sister had been out of town at a women's church retreat, so Ryan was in charge of his kids, and didn't quite dress them warmly enough. Luckily, my aunt had some spare clothes around for them to wear :)

It may be a little big on him ;)

Karys looks happy under her blanket!

Some party guests: my cousin, Anna and her husband, David

My cousin, Dan, his wife, Erica, and Erica's mom, Vicky

And of course, the cutest partygoers every: 

Here's all of us! It really was a fun day/evening with everyone!!

He works hard for the money!!

Back in January, Michel took a test at work to promote from firefighter to driver. He studied from October - January for a couple hours almost every day. All of his hard work paid off because he got the second highest score on the test which meant he qualified for the promotion, and got it! I'm so proud of him! For whatever reason, the promotional ceremony didn't take place until late March, but oh well. Michel had to wear his dress uniform, and I was going to pin him, so we were both dressed up. I think we clean up pretty well :)

I got a couple of pictures of Michel while his fire chief was speaking well of all of his hard work. Doesn't he look handsome in his uniform??

I love you, Michel!!