HDBD - 33 weeks & Happy Blogoversary to Me!

Sorry I'm just a wee bit late with this update.

Yesterday was a  fun day - had some professional pics of the "bump" taken by a dear friend and uber talented photographer, Ms. Kristin Vining.  If you have time you should definitely check out her website/blog - she's amazing!  www.kristinviningphotoblog.com/

I also just realized that yesterday was my Blogoversary!  That's right...one full year of "blogging" (sporadic as it may be).  For those of you who have not been following from the beginning you can catch my first post here: The first blog entry.  But our journey began long before the first blog entry and that is something that believe it or not I've actually started to forget about.  It seems so strange that something that consumed my life for 2 1/2-3 years now seems almost like if couldn't have been real.  Now we have everything that we could have hoped for - ours just came with a little more time, money and needles than most.  Looking back I wouldn't change a thing because if it had happened any other way we wouldn't be getting ready to welcome Nicolette into our family...I believe that everything happened the way it did so that SHE could be a part of our little fam.  We can't wait to meet her...only 7 weeks or so to go!!!!  

Wake up call!

HOLY MOLY!  A friend and co-worker of mine who is also pregnant (only 2 weeks ahead of me) delivered her baby yesterday.  All is well and baby and mommy (and daddy) are all fine (PRAISE GOD), but boy was this a wake up call for me!  She was only 35 weeks pregnant!   I'm 32 1/2 weeks pregnant...What in the world would I do if little Nicolette arrived in two weeks?  (cue panic attack and remember to remind hubby that the car seat that we're registered for is at Babies r' Us - we can make do without all the other stuff, but if we want to bring baby girl home that is the one thing that we absolutely have to have).  

Starting TODAY I'm going to definitely start taking it much easier and slow down.  (I say as I'm typing on my laptop at 4:30 in the morning instead of sleeping).  After the 5k yesterday I went straight to work where I was on my feet for most of the day meeting with clients and giving tours of the Hotel, then went to the grocery store and Sam's, then came home put everything away and made dinner, did dishes, etc.  I was on my feet about 80% of the time from 5am until 8pm...and I felt it at the end of the night.  I couldn't even sit on the couch and hang out with the Italian last night I just HAD to go lay down in bed (and was fast asleep within 30 minutes).

Anyway, sorry for the scattered post - Above all I'm keeping the Yatko family in my prayers and praising God that mommy and baby are well - even with this early arrival!  What a blessing that everyone is healthy and happy!    

And to my little one, "We can't wait to meet you baby Nicolette, but please stay put and "cook" for another month or so!  You have plenty of years ahead of you to give me anxiety so no need to start this early."  :)  

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight" ~ Proverbs 3:5-6  

Nicolette's first race...

And I use the term "race" lightly as the only race for me was to try and make sure that we didn't finish last.  Today started out bright and early as Nicolette and I headed out to the YMCA Ballantyne 5K this morning with friends from work.  Less than a year ago a 5k run was like a warm up for me and now I'm lucky just to be able to walk half that distance!  I was blessed to have a fellow pregateer with me today so that I had someone to walk with as I'm still too scared to go for walks by myself.  I did have to stop a few times because of this stupid light headed-ness that I still have going on but we made it through!  Silly baby apparently likes to take every bit of my blood and hang onto it and not let any get to my brain.  Most women suffer from "pregnancy brain" or forgetfulness...not me I just get dizzy and almost pass out...awesome.  This definitely makes getting exercise in a little challenging.     

I did feel a little bit like a freak show when at the end of the race the race photographers made my friend get out of the picture so that he could get a full profile shot of me.  Breaking news: "8-month pregnant woman finishes walking Ballantyne 5k!" - note my sarcasm here.  I somehow doubt that the Today Show will be calling to interview me as they did Amber Miller who finished the Chicago Marathon while 38 weeks pregnant (and then proceeded to deliver her child hours later).

This will definitely be our first and last "race" until the little one arrives.  But once she's here and old enough I can't wait to take her running with me in the jog stroller!!!!!  I was chatting with a mom of a 7 week old baby girl before the race and she had her baby girl all nestled into her BOB stroller and took off running as soon as the race started.  I'm definitely looking forward to that!

Don't EVEN ask me what our time was today...let's just say that most of the 10K runners were finishing as we finished our 5k walk. :)   

 I couldn't bring myself to pin that silly race number right over my bump.

 

We're in LOVE!

So, no bump pic to share today, but I have something even better to share...pics from our 3D/4D Ultrasound!!!!!  We went to an awesome studio (The Prenatal Picture) for our ultrasound session.  At the ultrasound the tech mentioned that I have an Anterior Placenta which basically means that the placenta is on the front of my belly instead of the back.  About 50% of women have anterior placenta and this explains why I don't feel her kicks or movements in the center of my belly, only on the sides.  Aha, now it makes sense!  It also means that it's a little trickier to get a clear shot - especially with this little snuggle buddy...the tech said that Nicolette really likes to snuggle up close to the placenta (probably because it's warm and she can hear my heartbeat).  She said that this also means that Nicolette will probably be a snuggly little girl when she gets here too!  YAY!  I love snuggles!!!! :)

I need to dig up some baby photos of both of us to compare but we both think that she looks more like me.  I think she has a Gulbranson nose and Lord knows that she has the same chubby cheeks that I had when I was a baby.  (When I was a baby my head was 90% cheeks).  The tech also said that she already has a LOT of hair, but obviously we can't tell what color it is yet :)  I need to see a baby pic of the Italian once again because Nicolette has really full lips and I don't think that I had full lips like that when I was baby (nor do I have them now).  Regardless, we were both in awe as we watched her move around, wiggle and giggle...yes, we got a few good laughs out of her because we were poking and prodding trying to get her to move her little hands away from her face but no such luck...for 30 minutes straight she had one or both of her sweet little hands right up by her face so we didn't get a super clear shot of her face.  Here are a few of our favorite pictures (we got 52 images, so I won't bore you with ALL of those - however there were several shots of the "girlie parts" so we can confirm with absolute certainty that she is 100% girl - she might have been shy showing her face but not a bit shy about flashing the lady parts...let's hope that's not a sign of things to come in the future :)

 She's playing peek-a-boo!  You can see her little smile behind her right hand.  

 Giggling!  She's a happy girl!

 Still smiling, but dang it she won't move her hands out of the way!

 At first glance this appeared to be our sweet, precious little baby giving us the one finger salute (and I wouldn't blamer her if she did.  We were poking her and wiggling her around just trying to get her little hands out of the way).  But it's actually her index finger. 

 Squishy face - I think she has mommy's cheeks (mommy had HUGE cheeks when she was a baby)

 Trying to settle back in and go back to sleep. 

 Daddy said that she was practicing "Tebowing"

Sleepy girl!

HDBD - 31 weeks!

So here we are at 31 weeks!  Only 8 weeks and 6 days away from D-Day or 5 weeks and 6 days away from being considered "full term". 

Had a busy week last week working on my favorite event of the year.  Here are a couple of pics snapped at my 13th hour of work from Tuesday evening's gala event :)  Still hangin in there and might I add that I'm still able to rock my 4" heels for the full day.  Those who know me well know that I don't do flats...I really only own 1 pair (and they're leopard print ballet flats so they won't go over too well with my conservative dress code at work).  My plan is to rock the heels until delivery day (so long as they don't hurt me or the bambino). 

After a busy week at work the hubs and I were able to spend Friday at the Wells Fargo Championship.  He's so sweet, all week long he kept saying that he didn't want me to go to the tournament because I'm 7 months pregnant...he must have missed the news story about the woman who ran the marathon at 8 1/2 months pregnant.  I think I can handle a few hours walking around the golf course honey, but it's sweet that you're concerned.  I'm glad the weather cooled off a little so that he felt comfortable taking me out there with him.  I have been getting a little stir crazy since I've been afraid to leave the house to go for walks by myself due to my light headedness/dizzy/almost fainting spells so it was nice to be outside and walking around for a while.  I know that the weather here will be in the upper 90's before we know it and then I probably won't want to be outside even if I could! 

And I wrapped up the weekend with some nursery shopping with my mom.  God bless Babies 'R Us and their 20% off coupons.  We got Nicolette's bassinet - I'll post a picture in a post later this week.  We set it up in our room and put the batteries in the little light, noise maker, vibrating thingy.  It was fun to turn it on last night and see what Sasha (our cat child) did.  She was VERY curious...especially when we put it on the nature sounds instead of the music.  But she was a good kitty - she didn't try to hop in the bassinet at all - she does however like to curl up in the storage basket underneath (where we're supposed to keep diapers, wipes, etc.).  I think that may be Sasha's new nap time spot which is fine with me as long as she's not trying to get IN the bassinet where the baby sleeps.  We'll let her think that we bought it especially for her.  Chance (our dog child) couldn't care less.  He's the most mellow dog you'll ever meet...didn't even sniff the bassinet or anything, just laid down on his bed right next to it and went to sleep.

As for cravings - I can't get enough FRUIT...watermelon, pineapple, mango, apples, grapes, berries...on two separate occasions I have eaten a pound to a pound and a half of grapes in one day...that can't be normal!  At least she likes fruit and not brownies and ice cream :)

And Tuesday was my birthday - 35 and proud WAHOO!  This means that I am officially of "advanced maternal age" - sounds awesome right?  We had a check up with Dr. Bale and so far everything is progressing just beautifully.  When I asked about the light headedness/fainting, Dr. Bale said that most women just get "pregnancy brain" where they get a little forgetful (this is a legitimate thing by the way caused by the majority of the blood in your body going to your little one instead of up to your noggin).  I haven't been forgetful (or at least not that I remember) so he said that my version of pregnancy brain is just getting dizzy, light headed and almost fainting.  cool.  Now don't feel too sorry for me...it doesn't happen every day, just once in a while and totally randomly so I'm a-ok. 

Little Nicolette is probably right around 3 pounds today.  We have our 3d/4d ultrasound next week and I can't wait to see her little face!  I'm sure that it has changed so much since our 19 week ultrasound! 

And I just realized that I'm wearing black in all of these pictures - no I am not in mourning and yes I do own and wear other colors...promise!

HDBD - 30 weeks

So I must apologize but I really have nothing clever to say today.  However today is Hump Day Bump Day and we are officially 30 weeks along.  That means only 7 weeks until we're considered "full term" (HOLY SMOKES) and 10 weeks until the estimated due date. 

Little girl is making lots of use out of the space she has on the right side of my body but seems to have missed the memo that she can hang out on the left side too.  Sometimes it feels like she's trying to crawl all the way around to my back so I gently nudge her back to try to get her centered a little bit.

I was thrilled to receive an awesome baby gift last night which included Mustela® baby care products.  I've been struggling to find a brand of soap, shampoo, lotion etc that I was comfortable using for little Nicolette.  I try to use paraben, phthalate-free products for myself and the Italian and really want to do the same for our sweet little one as well and this line of products fits the bill perfectly!    I've included some more info on Mustela® products and parabens below:

Mustela® Our Commitments

Expert Naturalness

• Priority is given to ingredients of natural origin that are rigorously selected
• Exclusion of questionable ingredients: paraben-free, phthalate-free, phenoxyethanol-free, essential oil-free, alcohol-free and Bisphenol A (BPA)-free

Proven Effectiveness

• Proven results from medical testing under actual conditions of use
• Products developed in close collaboration with healthcare professionals

Guaranteed Safety

• Hypoallergenic products and rigorous tolerance testing
• Traceability of our ingredients and products, from suppliers to point of sale

Special Pleasure to Use

• Development of pleasant textures
• Selection of delicate scents 

Environmental Commitment

• Our boxes are made using wood from sustainably managed forests and are printed with ink containing vegetable oils.
• Concrete actions being taken to reduce the use of plastic, paper and cardboard for packaging (recyclable recipients, deletion of inserts, etc.)

From wikipedia:

Parabens are a class of chemicals widely used as preservatives by cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Parabens are effective preservatives in many types of formulas. These compounds, and their salts, are used primarily for their bactericidal and fungicidal properties. They can be found in shampoos, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, personal lubricants, topical/parenteral pharmaceuticals, spray tanning solution, makeup,^[1] and toothpaste. They are also used as food additives.
Their efficacy as preservatives, in combination with their low cost, the long history of their use, and the inefficacy of some natural alternatives like grapefruit seed extract (GSE),^[2] probably explains why parabens are so commonplace. They are becoming increasingly controversial, however, because they have been found in extremely low concentrations in breast cancer tumors (an average of 20 nanograms/g of tissue).^[3] Parabens have also displayed the ability to slightly mimic estrogen (a hormone known to play a role in the development of breast cancer).^[3] No effective direct links between parabens and cancer have been established, however.^[4] Another concern is that the estrogen-mimic aspect of parabens may be a factor in the increasing prevalence of early puberty in girls.^[5]

Farewell Nutella!

Those who follow my Pinterest boards are well aware of my obsession with Nutella (the oh so delicious creamy, dreamy chocolate hazelnut spread that my celebrity soulmate Giada DiLaurentis talks about eating for breakfast when she was growing up in Italy) and will be SHOCKED at the title of this post. 

Yes, I love Nutella, I love it on toast, love it on strawberries, love it as the chocolate for my s'mores, love it on waffles, love it in pancakes, love it on apples, love it on a spoon or even my finger :)  I have spent countless hours researching Nutella recipes on Pinterest (not one of which I have actually made, but isn't that the point of Pinterest?) and have an entire board devoted to its deliciousness.  If there was a support group for Nutella Eaters Anonymous I would have to join. 

However I was shocked to find something EVEN BETTER...

TRADER JOE'S COCOA ALMOND SPREAD! 

The Italian and I both agree that this hidden treasure hands down beats Nutella.  Just picked the little gem up at our local Trader Joe's out of curiosity (and a weak pregnancy moment) and we had it on strawberries for dessert and are both HOOKED!  I came home last night and found that there are only about 2 Tablespoons left.  The Italian definitely approves :) 

This stuff is G-O-O-D!  Even gooder than Nutella!  If you have a Trader Joe's near you you should definitely check it out.  If you don't have a Trader Joe's near you, first I am so sorry for this void in your life...you're really missing out.  But seriously, they sell it on Amazon!

DELISH!

Hellooooo 3rd Trimester! - It's Hump Day Bump Day again!

I can't believe we made it to the 3rd trimester!  Only 11 short weeks (or so) until little Nicolette graces us with her presence.  I honestly cannot believe it! 

We had a busy week last week (hence the lack of a HDBD post for 28 weeks). 

• The dreaded glucose test was last week.  For those not familiar you drink this BIG cup of SUGARY, SYRUPY drink - think of an orange crush soda with extra sugar and NO carbonation.  You have to finish within 5 minutes and then have your blood drawn exactly 1 hour later.  This tests to see if you have gestational diabetes.  So far I haven't heard anything back about the results and the doc said with this test that "no news is good news".  So I guess you don't hear anything if you pass, only if you fail.  Fingers crossed that we're still good and that we don't hear from the doc until our next appointment (on my birthday!!!  Now we start going every two weeks for check ups). 
• The Italian had cataract surgery...no he is not 100 years old...just has had lots of unfortunate eye problems.  So we spent a couple of days on that and recovery - so far all is looking good.  His vision was actually 25/20 the day after surgery even with his eye still being dialated which the eye doctor said was AMAZING!  YAY!  He has another follow up tomorrow so prayers that all continues to look good.  He says it feels like he has an eyelash in his eye a lot of the time and he catches a glare out of his right eye and I'm hoping the doc says that that is all normal and that it will subside with time.   
• We had our Childbirth Preparation class Friday night and all day Saturday.  The Italian was a little bored, but definitely learned a lot - he thought all women delivered babies flat on their backs like they do in the movies.  Boy was he surprised when we had to watch "THE video" with 6 live births.  Fun times.  He's going to be an "uptown dad" - no need for the full show downtown.   
• The most fun was Nicolette's first Baby Shower this weekend with my work family!  This little girl is going to be spoiled rotten!!!!  We're starting to set up some of the "stuff" that we got for her around the house to see how our cat-child and dog-child react.  Chance (dog-child) is so mellow he really doesn't even seem to notice but Sasha (cat-child) is VERY curious.  We set up Nicolette's bathtub in our bathroom and she's been eyeing it for the past few days.  We're lucky to have very friendly, not aggressive in the least pets but Sasha does like to snuggle so I'm hoping to set up the bassinet in our room sometime in May or June to see what she does with it in the room.
• Little Nicolette is definitely making use of the space she's created in this belly of mine.  I swear I think she's doing toe touches or cartwheels in there because I'll feel (and see) her kicking in all different directions AT THE SAME TIME.  It's fun to watch!  :)      

And that brings us to this week - I've got some big events at work this weekend running into next week and trying to remind myself (in advance) to pace myself.  Still get awfully lightheaded now and then but the doctor swears that my 80/42 blood pressure is A-OK.  Whatevs...as long as I don't pass out I guess it's ok.     

And then NEXT weekend I'm so-hostessing a baby shower for a dear friend and former Panther Cheerleader teammate at our house!!!!  Babies, babies everywhere!!!!

Happy Hump Day Bump Day! 

29 weeks!!!!!!



National Infertility Awareness Week®

Hi all - I'm passing this message along...Please call your Members of Congress this week!

In recognition of National Infertility Awareness Week®, don't ignore your voice! Members of Congress need to know that people with infertility matter.

 

Hundreds of supporters throughout the infertility community are gathering in Washington D.C. this week to meet with Congressmen and urge them to co-sponsor the Family Act and save the Adoption Tax Credit.

• The Family Act would create a tax credit to help with the out-of-pocket medical costs for infertility treatment.
• We also need to repeal the sunset provision of the Adoption Tax Credit, which is set to expire this December.

And we need your help by calling your U.S. Senators and Representative to also show your support.

Here's how you can raise your voice: Visit here for details about your Congressmen, their phone numbers and a suggested script.

 

Calling will take just a moment of your time and could change your life as well as millions of others who are struggling with fertility treatment expenses.

 

Please call today!

World War III

Now I'm not usually one to air out my dirty laundry but here goes.  So ya know how I've been surprised at how I'm not freaking out about not having anything done for little Nicolette?  Well, I think perhaps I've repressed some of that energy (which beautifully released itself this weekend)...here's the story -

Friday night I mentioned to the Italian that I had to work on Saturday.  I knew that he was off this weekend so asked him if he thought he could "finish up" in the nursery.  (Note that that was a question, not a demand).  Now the tasks that the Italian had offered to complete for project nursery were paint walls, paint ceiling, install crown moulding (his idea, not mine) and paint said crown moulding.  He answers "yes".  He already had the walls painted so needed to paint the ceiling and handle the crown moulding.  So in my mind the affirmative answer meant that all would be completed this weekend - hooray!  (sidenote - we had already committed to Easter lunch with my parents on Sunday so I knew that that was going to eat into his schedule along with the Masters being on TV - apparently a national week of reverance for those who love golf). 

So I get home from work Saturday and notice that the hubs is not home - I looked in the nursery and nothing had been done so I thought SURELY he had made a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot to pick up some much needed supplies.  I go about my evening busying myself with chores when he bee-bops in and I realize that he was not at aforementioned home improvement stores but out playing golf.  Hmmmm...so I'm not the kind to blow up - I'm even worse I'm a passive aggressive pain in the arse.  (This is not a pregnancy hormone related issue...it's just how I roll - not proud of it, but I recognize and own it completely).  He notices aforementioned passive aggressive pouting and asks what is wrong and I calmly state that I thought he was going to finish up the nursery...things escalate within a matter of 5 minutes reaching a fevered pitch as he calls me a nag and tells me to get off his back and it ends with me telling him that I think he's lazy and that I hate golf.  (now the ironic thing is that he was more offended with the "I hate golf" statement than the fact that I called him lazy - who would have thought that would be the bigger insult?  Guys are weird...Lesson learned). 

Then comes Sunday morning.  The Italian is up earlier than usual and heads to Lowes for crown moulding supplies.  He returns as a man on a mission - bound and determined to prove me wrong and finish the project by the end of the weekend.  Oh and did I mention that he's happy about it...REAL happy about it (note sarcasm).  

Needless to say, he did NOT make it to my parent's house for Easter so it was just Nicolette, myself and Grandma and Grandpa for the day.  It was nice though - we got to skype with some of my relatives in Iowa - none of whom I have seen since our wedding (nearly 7 years ago)!!!!!

So lessons learned -

• For wife: Do not call your husband lazy (especially when he really isn't - he's actually super handy and takes care of 99.9% of our home projects and renovations - granted he does so on his own timing which is where we butt heads...when I say I'm going to do something, I like to do it immediately.  Him?  Not so much - he'll get to it when he gets to it and he might say that he'll get to it today which I am supposed to know means it might be another month). 
• For husband: Do not tell your wife that you will complete a project AND go to her parent's house over the weekend if you are really planning to spend an entire day playing golf which will make it impossible to complete said committments.

By the time I got home Sunday night, the crown moulding was up, ceiling was painted and all was well with the Italian happily watching Bubba Watson win the Masters (have to admit I'm a Bubba Watson fan so I was happy about that "win" too http://www.faithnews.cc/2012/04/02/pga-golfer-bubba-watson-lets-his-light-shine/).
   
Aside from that drama (which really should not have been drama at all) not much is going on.  Today is Hump Day Bump Day, so here we are at 27 weeks!!!!  She's taking over for sure!  Next week I'll officially be in the THIRD TRIMESTER - the HOME STRETCH!!!!  I can't believe it!  My due date is exactly 3 months from today! 

I'll post pics of "Project Nursery" soon!  We still have no furniture - but we'll make sure she has somewhere to sleep before she arrives :)