Back from the holiday tour!

22 weeks 6 days

Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.


How far along? 22nd week
Total weight gain/loss: +1lb in the last 2 weeks. +16lb total. Oh don't worry, the holiday food will hit for next week's post. I know those Christmas cookies are on their way somewhere like my thighs.
Stretch marks? Still good to go. Skin is starting to get dry though- thank you new home in the tundra. Lotion is a must every day, but I feel like my skin swallows it within 5 minutes, like I do milk in the morning. And the itchy stomach is starting.
Sleep: To update on the last post, Troy was successful in turning into Bob Villa via You Tube. The man was a genious in getting our boxspring upstairs by cutting it in half and putting it back together. Merry Christmas to us with our queen bed back!
Best moment this week: Well it's been a great week of traveling to see everyone for the holidays. I felt like we were in the movie Four Christmases (and don't I wish I had Reese's body right about now), but all of the traveling was well worth it. First went and spent 5 days with Dad until Christmas Eve. Got to see Mom & fam on Christmas Day (Aunt Paulene's strata is still the best I have ever eaten). And then we finished it off with a trip to Troy's house until today. And in true Jessica form, I returned to my ways of being able to stay up late for the parties :) Just minus the boozin' it up till after hours part...oh I know you all miss that girl. It's a whirlwind to get from place to place, but in the end it's always nice to see everyone for the holidays.
Movement: This has been a very prominent thing the last 2 days. The kicks are starting to make us believe we def have a soccer player following in their all-star parents footsteps. I can see us all on the field now! Last night I had a feeling they were strong enough to see from the outside, and sure enough I watched these little jabs pop up from my shirt. Craziness! I said hi by poking back haha. I showed Troy today and I think he was completely freaked out that something was doing that to my insides haha. He or she is kung fu fighting as I type!
Gender: Dreams lately have been a boy. But then again, sometimes the baby turns into a puppy, and then Patrick Dempsey appears, so I'm not looking too far into it. Oh and then the one night, the doctor messed up and it was 3 girls and 1 boy...no thank you, we don't need a Jon & Kate drama set here.
Labor Signs: The labor of being sober- BORING!!!!!!! Holiday parties are over now, so should be easier. Oh wait, the Superbowl of them all is at our house tomorrow night. Oh fine fetus, sparkling juice it is.

Food Cravings: Wegmans subs last week took care of any cravings for the month. I MUST get their basil sub oil permanently stocked in this house. I would put that stuff on my cereal.
What I miss: My cheekbones and single chin. Holy Rosie O'Donnell face.

What I am looking forward to: Finishing off the baby registry with a trip to look at strollers & swings. Troy actually wants to come too to make sure he's not pushing around a pile of pink polka dots ;)
Weekly Wisdom: Gaining weight doesn't mean the usual bigger stomach, arms, or face. Oh no, it now has to mean bigger calves too. What the hell. My brand new knee-high boots are getting small. Don't tell Troy, he'll kill me.
Milestones: Got a doc! Got a hospital! Got signed up for classes! Got registered! Got fatter! woo hoo!
Baby Brain Moment of the Week: Today I confused the word "limbo" with "lingo". Man I sound so intelligent lately. Thankfully I have Troy by my side to call me out and correct. Thanks for being discrete loving husband.

Weekly Belly Pic: Mom shot this one from her house this week. Note to self: turtlenecks don't embrace the bloated face.

Now for my next new house project...

the nursery!

I have found my inspiration for our nursery. Gender neutral these days = barnyard crib sets which I haven't been in love with, so I was getting frustrated on what to do. Add on the fact that we can't paint the walls here in this rental, and they're yellow..ugh. So I came across a color palette of yellow/dark gray/white that I fell in love with. Sounds odd in words, but look how gorgeous it looks...

I have fallen in love with this design I found, but will need to do some changes like flip the colors since the wall here is already yellow. I was thinking I'll just do the wall mural in the dark gray/white on large canvases so I can actually take them with me the next time we move! And then do the bedding in more of the grays as well. What do you think??

Over half-way done!!!!

20 weeks 2 days

Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed!





How far along? 20th week
Total weight gain/loss: +3lb in the last 2 weeks. +15lb total. I'm thinking I'm screwed and this is a repeat of my mother-in-law's 9-10lb babies.
Stretch marks? None so far. Go body go!
Sleep: This is an interesting subject with the move. Since our queen boxpspring did not fit up the stairs in the new house, we've been sleeping on the guest room double bed where there is no room for Snoogle- not cool. But thankfully I have been exhausted enough from the never-ending boxes getting unpacked that I just pass out for 11 hours a night. I do not want to see cardboard for another 12 months. But no fear, Troy found a video on You Tube where a Mexican construction crew wings it by cutting it in half, bringing it up the stairs, and putting it back together. Oh yeah, I have a real Bob Villa on my hands.
Best moment this week: Moving to Hingham. This town is the cutest and the view of the water makes it all better under a stressful moment. And I'm in love with my new grocery store. Hello- a coffee cup holder on the cart after getting coffee from the front of the store- priceless. Liquor, beer, & wine all in one stop- heaven. A scanner to use as you shop and then give to the checkout to ring up all at once and prevent having to put any items on the conveyor- perfection.
Movement: Troy finally felt the baby kick! As usual the baby was having playtime late at night (which better not continue after birth) and Troy was right there on the couch to finally feel it. He/she is really letting their presence be known and I love it.
Gender: I am still thinking girl, but I'm trying to prepare myself for boy too just in case. Maybe it's because we agreed on a girl name a long time ago, but the boy name is a constant battle. Whatever name I love, he dislikes and vice versa. This is coming from a man who likes the names Lujack and Olin...do you see what I'm working with?!
Labor Signs: The labor of moving our stuff from 3300 sq ft to 1800. There is a catastrophe in the Dolly household as there is no where to store Jessica's purses.

Food Cravings: None really. But the Cape Cod Salt & Vinegar chips def made it into my cart this week.
What I miss: Not having to pull my pants up every 2 minutes. The belly keeps pushing the waistband down and exposing parts that havent been in the sun in ages, so I think I'm graduating to the absurd maternity pants that go up to your boobs.

What I am looking forward to: Finding a new doc next week and touring the neighboring hospitals. I know this won't be a fun process since there are like 10 doctors to choose from in just 1 practice, but it will certainly ease some stress in not having to deliver my baby to a random intern that was on duty that night if finding a new doctor wasn't at the top of my to-do list...which is a ridiculous list at the moment including "Buy boots." since I've been parading around in flats with snow or 20 degree temps out.
Weekly Wisdom: Don't count your chicks before they hatch. I had a job lined up here, but before I was able to start, Grainger decided to axe it from the 2010 budget in order to send the salary funds elsewhere. I would have been co-managing 4 major accounts, so they decided to have just the existing guy handle it. Grrrrreat. Appreciate that boys. So instead of wasting my time interviewing with a 6 or 7-month preggers belly that shouts the message "even if you hire me, I'm going to need at least 2 months off right after I start", I'm going to play housewife/stay-at-home mom until I'm ready to leave the baby at daycare. Crack out the apron! I figured now is a good time if any to take a well-deserved break and have fun with the money from selling the business and having a new baby. And I get to travel with Troy until the baby arrives, so you can just call us the gypsy family.
Milestones: Over half way there!!! Everyone always says "It will go by so fast", but honestly I feel like I have been pregnant forever. I think the having to be sober as the Pope doesn't help, but I really hope the second half isn't as long as the first. Especially when that involves me not being able to see my feet at the end.
Baby Brain Moment of the Week: I think it's just Bitchy Brain this week. Poor Troy. He has not won a battle yet as to where a picture is going to get hung. I tell him he has to deal with it as the karma in life for making me fat.

Weekly Belly Pic: Our master bathroom is now the size of my old walk-in closet :( And it seems my ass wants to grow along with my stomach. Stomach only, stomach only!

We meet again!

18 weeks 4 days

Ultrasound day! Ultrasound day! What an amazing experience. We finally got to see this little guy/gal that has been poking everywhere lately. We walked in and immediately reminded the woman we did not want to know the sex. So she squirts that jelly on my stomach - of which by the way they keep that stuff heated now thank god - and puts the wand down. Boom! Immediately we see the spine and this baby sprawled out taking a nice little nap. I thought pancakes and syrup for breakfast would have our kid bouncing off the placenta, but no such luck. So she literally had to wake him/her by prodding and jiggling me with the wand...which worked! So the baby insisted that they look straight at the wand, which let me tell you looks like scary Skeletor's face, rather than the cute profile shot you can get from a side view. But after some more poking we got peanut to give us some beautiful pictures. One time when the baby was kicking back, I felt it and it was just such a sight to see. But I'm really skeptical of when you can feel it all in the latter months, since there was quite a but I wasn't feeling but we could see the movement on screen. That little bugger can dance! We got to look at the brain, and heart chambers, hands, feet, spine, umbilical cord (Troy had to be reminded he could not be proud yet and that was not a large penis), and stomach. She said everything looked great and the heartbeat was a healthy 135 (120 - 180bpm is good to go). He/she was once again measuring a little smaller for 18 weeks 4 days, so they pushed the due date again to May 3. That's it people! No more pushing!!



I think I won the nose!












Tucked up in a fetal position with the back towards us.











Hands getting ready to box mama's stomach.













Little foot print.













Peacefully resting again.

Ok, now it's real.

18 weeks 3 days

Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.



How far along? 18th week
Total weight gain/loss: +4lb in the last 2 weeks. What can I say, the baby was hungry for all that yummy food we had at the beach last week!!! +12lb total.
Stretch marks? I am in love with my alba body butter now. The scent is much more pleasant than the cocoa butter that makes me smell like a tanorexic in Boca.
Sleep: My love, the Snoogle, has allowed me to figure out how to semi-sleep on my stomach. I am a happy mama now.
Best moment this week: Vacation with the fam at the beach was delightful. There were so many laughs, and times I had 4 tissues just to dry up the tears from laughing so hard. I got to eat my beloved apple/cranberry stuffing (why do I make this only once a year?!?!) and we even got some girl time with the Twilight movies. New Moon was so good and my sister has me hooked like a 15 year-old teen by getting me to read the last 2 books. Hey, I figured I needed something to do on the car ride to Boston! I put in some pics at the bottom of some of our pics from the beach.
Movement: The movement is making it all so real now. The kicking/punching/flipping like a high diver is pretty much on the hour now and it's just so fun to feel. Troy is like a 3 year-old waiting for Santa to come and can't wait to feel it from the outside.
Gender: My face and hips are confirming my thoughts on a girl :) It's so crazy to think we could actually find out tomorrow if we wanted to, but Troy keeps reminding me of how awesome it will be the day our baby is born to get to hear "It's a ...!" in the thrill of the moment.
Labor Signs: The labor of moving, selling a business, and getting our house ready for renters. Troy has been a gem with the physical stuff though. Any man who encourages me to nap while he packs up my house gets a daily neck rub.
Food Cravings: All cravings were satisfied with Franks Red Hot fried turkey, twice-baked garlic potatoes, green bean casserole, apple/sausage/cranberry stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin cheesecake, cherry pie, peanut butter pie, and milk :)
What I miss: Fitting into my normal pants and even some of my cute pajama bottoms. My wardrobe is so limited now. But the fact that leggings are in is glorious.
What I am looking forward to: ULTRASOUND IS TOMORROW!!!!! I can't wait to see the baby on the screen again. Don't worry, we'll post pics before we leave town.
Weekly Wisdom: Don't stand on your feet for too long. Your lower back will scream at you.
Milestones: I hit a new low milestone. I forgot a belt at the beach, so I asked Troy to borrow his to at least hold my pants up since the elastic no longer has hips to hold onto. I went to put the belt on, and it was too tight on the last hole. My heart sunk. I'm glad he's a skinny guy, but it still made me feel horrible. Again, blaming the baby for liking Thanksgiving so damn much.
Baby Brain Moment of the Week: Lulu saved me in Cranium this week when I thought the "Take a Bite Out of Crime" dog was Ruff McGruff.
Weekly Belly Pic: A lovely after Thanksgiving shot. And as I went to go take the shot 10 min ago, I scornfully discovered that my camera is broken :( It won't open at all. Guess I know what I need for Christmas.










My HUGE batch of stuffing that I made. Seriously, the best.

Goodbye Sweet Home Alabama

It's such a bittersweet thing to say goodbye to this great state that has treated us so well the last 6 years, since we are very excited to start discovering a whole new world in Boston. But we will dearly miss a lot of people and places along the gulf coast. It's crazy to think that we arrived knowing NO ONE, and are now leaving some great friends that made our stay so much fun. Good times bangin' a tambourine at a piano bar (tip: don't do this- it leaves massive bruises), many chili cook-offs that made for marathon drinking days, sunsets over the bay & gulf, SEC football parties where you all hated the LSU girl, the epic Mardi Gras balls, and the good ol' bushwackin' at the FloraBama. We'll certainly be back to visit, and you better have a bushwacker waiting for us! Love y'all!!!!

Blog from the Beach

17 weeks 4 days
Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.




How far along? 17th week
Total weight gain/loss: I'm not going to lie, I forgot to get on the scale before coming to the beach house that we're at this week. So I will say this- after eating huge meals that we're cooking up all week AND throw Thanksgiving in there, prepare yourself for week 18's weight update :) Hey I can't help it if they baby loves my apple/cranberry stuffing and the delicious Dicamillo's toast with cinnamon sugar!
Stretch marks? Skin is growing, stretch marks are not- THANK GOD.
Sleep: It's no b.s. when the pregnant woman world boasts about that little, lovely thing called the Snoogle. I thought, "How great can this pillow really be?" It really is heaven-sent. Sleep is now back to normal thanks to this contraption that some genious has made millions off of by just bending a body pillow. I even went so far as to making sure the 8-foot long sack of sanaity was packed for our beach trip this week. Troy looks at me like I'm crazy when he unpacks the car, but in reality he should be thanking Snoogle for me not tossing and turning like there are bed bugs in there with us.
Best moment this week: Being able to be at the beach with all the fam this week. Even though it's a bit cooler than the norm sun-soaking summers, it's still so relaxing and peaceful when you take a long walk down the white sand stretch. There's nothing like sitting and listening to the waves crash to melt away any worries that exist.
Movement: Fish swimming is turning into a bird pecking. A couple times a day it's like the inside of my stomach is lined with seeds that Big Bird is enjoying.
Gender: Since seeing my belly in person, my psychic mom has changed her mind to girl. Trust me, this woman is like Nostradamus.
Labor Signs: The labor of nothing. Vacation is glorious.
Food Cravings: Thanks to my grandmother bringing Dicamillo's to the beach, toast with butter & cinnamon sugar is a MUST first thing.
What I miss: Let's just say a wet bar FULL of alcohol at the beach house is not an easy thing to look at. Especially when the blender gets going.
What I am looking forward to: Turkey dinner, period.
Weekly Wisdom: It's not like it used to be and don't over-do it. Thinking it would be nice to go grocery shopping for everyone with a $1,000 receipt was not a good idea. Even in flats, the lower back was not thankful.
Milestones: Sold the business & rented the house all last week. NOW we can go to Boston.
Baby Brain Moment of the Week: Still having problems spelling and my documents always look the kid who's failing 2nd grade with all of the red marks.
Weekly Belly Pic: This should be interesting... pic before Thanksgiving.