HDBD - 25 weeks

25 WEEKS!!!!!

That means only 15 weeks or so until our precious little Nicolette arrives!  I can NOT believe it!!!!  Time is REALLY starting to FLY by!  We've had a busy week this week and I have a feeling that things are only going to be getting busier and busier. 

Daddy painted the nursery this week and will be putting up crown moulding in her room over the next week or two.  After that we need to pick out a chandelier (every little girl needs some *bling* in her room) and purchase some of the nursery furniture.  We're considering re-carpeting the upstairs so if we decide to do that we'll probably do so before we get the furniture. 

I'm surprised at how calm I am considering that I have not purchased ONE THING for baby Nicolette (- ok that's not totally true.  The night we found out she was a "she" I bought a bib that says "Daddy's Little Princess" - but that is TRULY the only thing that I've purchased.)  For those who don't know me this is NOT how I usually operate.  I would normally have an entire spreadsheet devoted to what we're going to purchase and when including the price, where we're purchasing it from and where it will be stored until we're ready to set it up and it's final resting place.  YES, I am aware that this is totally annoying but that's how I roll...normally.  (God bless my husband for being able to stay married to me through this annoying way of life and God bless my coworkers who also have to deal with new spreadsheets created to analyze every possible scenario).  Anyway, for some reason I don't feel my usual compulsive need to make endless lists and obsess over every detail - hopefully this is preparation for motherhood and me starting to realize that "I can't control EVERYTHING", "I don't need to control EVERYTHING", "Even if EVERYTHING isn't done before she gets here, it will in fact be DONE when it needs to be done." and "If I do try to control everything I will surely be disappointed because it is guaranteed NOT to go the way I plan." 

I went for the tour at the Pediatrician's office last night and really LOVED the doctors we met with.  Very nice and friendly and seem very easy to work with.  I have a feeling that we will be spending A LOT of time there over the next few years. 

This week I had a few pregnancy moments that I haven't yet experienced.  Monday I felt like my lungs were squished and that I couldn't catch a full breath.  So I was out of breath all day and just constantly trying to take quick little breaths.  I also felt crazy hungry but when I would start to eat I felt like there was no room in my body for the food to go so I couldn't eat much.  Now I've heard friends talk about this, but I always thought that these "side effects" crept up later in preganancy.  Luckily it was only Monday and by Tuesday I was breathing normally once again.  Then I had my first encounter with what is known as Round Ligament Pain Monday night and all day Tuesday.  I started out for a walk after work and on the latter half of the walk all of the sudden my hip flexors started to get insanely tight.  For any of my running friends out there if you've ever had tight hip flexors and it feels like it's on the verge of "popping" - that is what it felt like.  You know that intense pain right before a joint or something pops - well that was it, only there was no popping just the pain which caused me to waddle - yes WADDLE LIKE A DUCK for 36 hours.  If I stood up too quickly getting out of bed, out of the car or at work I would feel almost a stabbing pain and I'd have to bite my tongue to keep from shouting and then that would make myself laugh which again invoked more stabbing pain.  Yesterday was interesting to say the least.  Weird thing is that I woke up this morning and felt totally fine.  No more waddling for me (YET - I'm sure that will change soon).

And I'm convinced that Nicolette is going to be a Rockette - good Lord she's got some powerful KICKS.  I was standing up talking to a co worker yesterday and one of the guys at work who was walking by stopped and said, "Oh my gosh!  Did your baby just move???"  I said yes that she'd been a little hyper active and he said, "I saw it, I saw it!".  Oh boys - they are so funny.  :) 

Still no serious cravings or anything crazy popping up with the appetite.  I've craved sugary treats a little more than usual over the past week but not anything totally out of the ordinary.  She still loves fruit and veggies!  And fresh strawberries with Nutella is a dessert favorite of hers (and daddy's too) :) 

And I'm finally into Maternity Clothes for work.  The regular work attire was NOT cutting it anymore.  For any mommies to be out there, you should totally look into ebay when looking for clothing.  I've ordered several work dresses that are all NEW WITH TAGS and would normally sell for $70 - $150 for $30 or less from ebay.  I've found that sizing is still pretty consistent with what I would normally wear, just with a big old bump in the front!  :)  I will say that Old Navy stuff is NOT working for me.  Darn shame - that stuff is priced RIGHT! 

So here's today's "bump" picture - 25 weeks and counting!!!! 

Thanks for continued thoughts and prayers! 

Much love to all of our friends & family who have been so very supportive!  xoxo

This week....

So we're 24 weeks along this week.  Time is really flying by!  According to my checklist on thebump.com we're supposed to start assembling our nursery furniture this week....uh....I guess we're a little behind.  We have nursery furniture picked out but we haven't purchased anything yet and we just got the second batch of paint from Restoration Hardware for daddy to finish painting the nursery so we're just going to be content to be behind on the "to-do" list.

But in more exciting news this week - daddy FINALLY felt Nicolette move!  We were in bed watching a movie and I asked him just to keep his hand on her to see if she would come out of hiding and low and behold all of 2 minutes later she gave him a good solid kick.  The look on his face was PRICELESS!  It's definitely becoming more and more real with every passing day.  In just under 16 weeks (or somewhere around there), we'll have our little bundle with us!

I know I'm in the "happy trimester" as my doc calls it, but I didn't realize how wiped out I can get.  I started the month with a couple of 6 day, 60+/- hour work weeks and I'm just getting to take some comp time to recover today and tomorrow.  Yesterday I felt super light headed and actually had to lay down on the kitchen floor while making my breakfast because I thought I was going to pass out.  The Italian helped me back to bed and after about an hour in bed and some much needed breakfast I felt well enough to get my rear end to work, but still felt woozie and out of it for the rest of the day.  Today I had the day off so I spent most of the day in bed and still felt woozie this morning but am feeling MUCH better now.  Good grief I should feel better - I rested for about 12 hours today!  Anyway, note to self, I'm going to avoid the 12-14 hour work days at all costs...it takes me much too long to catch back up.  And if I feel that wiped out I can only imagine what little Nicolette is feeling in there.

Still no crazy cravings - wanting lots of fruit and fresh strawberries with Nutella is our favorite dessert for the moment.  And actually if you haven't tried it and have access to a Trader Joe's, you should try their cocoa-almond spread...we actually like it BETTER than Nutella.

So that in a nutshell is week 24...still hangin' in there and getting more and more excited with each day!  Thanking God for each and every little blessing!

HDBD - 23 weeks

It's Hump Day Bump Day once again!  23 weeks and counting!!!!  Nicolette is definitely out of hiding now!!!!!

I still haven't bought any maternity clothes but my selections in my closet are limited.  I think I have 3 dresses that I can wear to work (God bless A-line and shift dresses).  So, sorry co-workers, but you're gonna have to get used to my outfit recycling...promise that I do laundry on a regular basis!  

Nicolette is kicking up a storm - she really likes to sit up by my right ribs.  When we went to the doctor Tuesday the nurse even commented about how she's curled up in a little ball way up high on the right.  She had a strong heartbeat at 147 BpM.  Hubs still hasn't felt the kick - she'll be going at it for a little while so I'll have him come over and put his hand on her and I guess she's either shy or trying to make a liar out of me and she totally stops.  Hopefully he'll feel her in the next couple of weeks.  She either absolutely LOVES fruit or is totally irritated by it so that is pretty much always guaranteed to get a reaction.  I guess I'll just keep downing oranges and pineapple to see if daddy can feel her sometime soon.  

Hoping hubby will make some more progress painting the nursery this weekend - I'm still frustrated that I can't help with the painting. That is one home improvement task that I actually CAN do (and usually enjoy it too)!  I know there are mixed thoughts on whether women should paint or not.  I have girlfriends who have painted and everything has been perfectly fine however I logged on to the American Pregnancy Association's website to check out their thoughts just before I was ready to open a can of paint and read that they really don't recommend it.  Specifically they state that "Avoiding paints and solvents is the safest course of action" Then to make it worse I logged on to a message board and read a message from a mother who said that as the mother of a handicapped child she will wonder for the rest of her life it it had to do with the painting that she did while she was pregnant.  ACK!  That scared the living daylights out of me and I literally RAN away from the paint can.  For the rest of the day I wouldn't come near the Italian or the fume infested room...still haven't stepped into it fully 4 days later as I want all of the paint fumes gone.  We used low VOC paint, but still...with all that we've been through to bring little Nicolette here we'd rather be safe than sorry.  Luckily the Italian's a pretty handy guy so he's got it under control (he just doesn't always operate on my time schedule). 

That's all for now...feeling blessed beyond belief and loving every moment of this pregnancy (even the 14 weeks of constant sickness in the very beginning). Hard to believe that she'll be here in just a few months!!! 

She has a name!

Well, she's actually had a name since the day after we found out that she is in fact a "she".  We've just been bouncing it around and calling her by her name to make sure that we do absolutely love it (and we do).  So she is officially 

Nicolette Branson Randazzo

I wanted something girly and feminine and had to give up my fight for the name Giuliana since the Italian was adamantly opposed.  So I put together a list of about 20 names on Sunday after our Gender Party and had the Italian review them.  He nixed every single name except Nicolette.  As soon as I heard him say it out loud I said you know I love that name too, let's name her Nicolette.  And so we did!  

Branson was our first name for a boy and it comes from part of my maiden name and we thought that it would still be a nice and special middle name for our little girl.  Not only is Nicolette a pretty name, but the Randazzo family is full of Nicholases.  Grandpa Randazzo is a Nicholas so this is a nice variation on it   and each of her names incorporate a part of each of our families which makes it even more special.  

I think it may be the fastest that two parents have ever named a child, but when you know, you know, right?  

Other than the name we just started work on the nursery - I've been taping off the trim and Daddy was kind enough to start painting this weekend.  We'll definitely share pictures as it starts to come together. 

And I can't wait to see my Hump Day Bump Day pic this coming Wednesday...I feel like she's tripled in size over the last two weeks.  Time is trucking right along and we'll be 6 months along this week...I can hardly believe it!