’tis the season.

We decked the halls and are making spirits bright around here! There’s just something magical about the warm glow of Christmas lights around you at night. We haven’t unplugged them once yet and I love it. The only downside to our holiday decorations is that it’s completely empty beneath the tree. It’s hard to fill it with pretty packages when my shopping doesn’t get done until the last minute… (just another good reason to get that shopping done sooner.) I’m already so excited for next Christmas with a little girly in the house! The tree is sure to have more gifts than ever underneath it..

I love how Lucy is just taking a little snooze on the chair in the first photo. 🙂

If you are wondering, the delicious-looking drink is Nutella Hot Chocolate (Nutella mixed with skim milk) topped with homemade marshmallow chunks and a candy cane for a hint of peppermint flavor — amazing (besides scalding my tongue with the first sip).

And, a glimpse of our Christmas card this year! (photo taken in Baby Koch’s room with a self timer.) 🙂

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

WEEK 29. [the first “baby”]

Anyone who knows me well, knows how much I love my dog. But even those who know that don’t really understand [unless you are equally as in love with your own dog]. Since I haven’t held my baby in my arms yet (although I feel massive love for her already), the only way I can describe the love I have for Lucy must be similar to the love you feel for another human—unconditional. Before you judge me (probably already did!), I realize the love I will feel for my daughter will likely feel significantly stronger than it is for my dog. With that being said…

I am not ashamed of how much I love Lucy because it only proves and shows a glimpse into the amount of love I am capable of sharing and feeling, and that can’t be anything but a good sign as an individual, right? There are days when I am petting/cuddling with her when my throat chokes up and tears well up in my eyes at the thought of potentially forgetting how strong my love is for her once the baby arrives. What if the connection and love I feel towards her diminishes? What if she starts to annoy me because I’m busy trying to take care of a baby? And heaven forbid, what if she hates me!? I don’t know what I’m more worried about… my love for her altering in some way or feeling like she doesn’t love me anymore?

Sometimes I worry about how I’m going to handle (not literally, because of course I can “handle” it) how powerful the love is going to be for my baby. If I love my dog so so so much, worry about her and her safety, and the thought of losing her is unbearable, how am I going to be able to control or handle those same feelings (x 1,000,000) for a tiny little human? I’ll explode and be a ball of anxiety every second of every day!

I know we will have to go through a transition period and adjust to a new normal in the house once Baby Koch arrives, but if there’s one thing that’s for sure, we’re going to do everything we can to keep it just as it is… plus one. We hope to do what we can to make it easier on Lucy to realize what is going on as well. After all, this will be a big deal for her because she currently is our baby and has been since she was a month old. (She was so little, I used to hold her in one arm and sweep the kitchen floor with the other!! SO adorable.) We plan to have someone bring a blanket [that the baby has been wrapped in] from the hospital to our house before we go home so that Lucy can get a good sniff of the new strange scent that will be joining our little “team”. And when we get home, I am plopping that infant seat (which contains the bambino!) right on the floor for Lucy to sniff and even give a big ole puppy kiss to. This little girl will love dogs! My hope is that they will end up being BFFs and our little girly will bring Lucy happiness, even more love, and keep her young at heart. (and vice versa!)

It’s impossible not to love this dog.

lovable.

What else is up?

Baby Brain: It’s official, I don’t care what anyone says, this is real. The other morning at work I sat down and turned on my computer, promptly typing in my password only to see it fail to log in. I did it again and again, typing the password I have typed since August. I finally had to look for a sheet of paper where it was written down. Sure as shit, I had forgotten one character in the password. This is proof that baby brain really exists.

Doctor Says: Everything is right on track! Yay! I had the opportunity to ask her lots of questions.. Is the epidural needle really as big as everyone says it is? Will it suck as bad as I think it will? Am I going to feel paralyzed? Should we go to the labor+delivery class? Is there any way you can look at a person’s body structure and know their chances of a C-Section are less likely (not taking into consideration the hundreds of other factors that cause a women to need a C-Section)? Is it ok that I still comfortably sleep on my back? Can I get a massage? Will I squish or smother the baby if I lean over, putting pressure on my belly, too long? What vaccines do you give the baby, what are your views and what information/facts do you know as a doctor about the controversial vaccine epidemic?

Curse of the Curtains [Update]: After all that hard work of fabric choices and asking for opinions, I opted for a whole new fabric. It caught my eye and I went for it without too much thought (of course this would happen!). I think they will look fabulous (fingers crossed). Thanks to those who took the time to give me their opinions!! My sewing-master mother is using her terrific talent to sew the curtains for me, complete with black-out lining so that the little bambino can sleep peacefully in a dark room any hour of the day! Can’t wait to see the final product. She is also sewing me a crib mattress sheet in a super fun, coordinating fabric. (FYI: I do plan to have at least a few crib sheets, not just one.) Check out my super real-looking photoshop skills again… 🙂

progress.

We got a stroller! I am indescribably disappointed+bummed to have missed the special REI had going… Buy the BOB stroller+carseat adapter, get the carseat FREE ($199 value). Once I get over the fact that it’s another $199 we have to spend, I’ll wipe my tears and be fine. The stroller has been tested+approved by Lucy so we know it’ll be awesome. 🙂

Cory swears my belly keeps getting bigger by the hour. (He’s probably right!)… Or he just looks at me and says “WOAH! Did you eat a big dinner!?” 🙂

29 WEEKS.

Countdown: 67 days to go! When I see that number it really puts things into perspective. Time has been flying by and along with 95% of the population I cannot believe it’s Christmas next week! (Unfortunately, I do have a sneaky suspicion that after Christmas, time will slow down to a snail’s pace, and February 23 won’t come soon enough.)

Anyone else still have 80% of their Christmas shopping to do? Every year I vow to start earlier, like November, and every year I fail miserably.

To end on a positive note, our house has been Christmasfied, complete with a fully decorated, REAL tree, lights on the house, a wreath on the door, and lots of other Christmas touches. (Even our Christmas cards have been sent out!) A Christmas tour blog post is coming soon!

WEEKS 26+27+28 [day 200]

I’ve officially been pregnant for 200 days!

 

The Thanksgiving holiday totally threw me off track of my weekly blogging. Something about going home-home puts me on the fast track of laziness+relaxation+no motivation. Four free days to do whatever I wanted, and I just could not get my fingers to type. Instead, they were busy feeding myself homemade chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting (thanks for the birthday cake, mom!), leftover Thanksgiving stuffing, and Schwann’s peppermint ice cream all weekend…

With that being said..

How I’m feeling: Awesome. I am surprised at how good I feel and can only hope that it continues (fingers crossed!). I haven’t had heartburn or acid reflux, no swollen feet or hands, no backaches, and have been sleeping pretty great (aside from waking up a couple times to pee!). The only thing that is different about how my not-pregnant-self would feel, is that my belly is bigger than normal. And my abdominal muscles clearly don’t work very well. Sitting up for a laying down position is now more of a challenge. 🙂

I have nightdaymares of reaching a miserable stage… Watch, I’ll have fat fingers and won’t be able to wear my wedding ring, swollen feet so won’t be able to wear half my shoes, and a swollen face! I really hope not.

Bad Mama Moment: After drinking a bottle of Kombucha, I read the label. Kinda backwards(?). There, in red letters, it stated that if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, to consult your physician before consuming their products. I had googled this before drinking one and couldn’t find any clear indication to not drink it so really didn’t think it would be a big deal. I guess I’ll steer clear of them from here on out. You know those mishaps that make you feel like such a bad mama (this happens to me with Lucy too)? This was one of them.

Surprise: This time at my doctor apppointment, I remembered to ask what I weighed last time so I could see my progress. Much to my surprise (you know, after all the chocolate cake, leftover stuffing, and ice cream!), I gained two pounds since my appointment a month ago. It’ll be interesting to see what I gain these last 11 weeks…!

A+: I passed my glucose test with flying colors! (Again, all that cakestuffingandicecream I consumed over the weekend had me concerned about passing this!) Whoever says it’s soooo awful to drink needs to stop spreading rumors. First of all, it’s a tiny cup of liquid and it tastes like [fruit punch]! It was much better than any shot of liquor I’ve consumed, that’s for sure. My “score” was 123. I guess anything under 139 is considered normal. Yay, me!

Overheard: When I was waiting to get into my appointment, I overheard a soon-to-be baby daddy ask his future baby mama, “Why do you get so emotional when you hear the heartbeat? It’s weird.” Ummmm, I don’t know about you, but that would be grounds for a sock to the head arm had Cory said something like that to me. Dude, be nice to your pregnant wife!

It’s a Girl: I know, you already knew that. I asked my PA how much it would cost to do another ultrasound because I was having some “mild anxiety that she would come out a he“. She just smiled and said they would just do one quick, no problem (so nice!). Before you judge me and think I’m a weirdo… I’ve had multiple people tell me how somebody they knew thought they were having a girl and she ended up being a boy — after forming a connection+bond with a daughter and preparing for a girl, I am not sure how easy it would be to adapt to a boy if it were to happen. So I had the ultrasound and it has been confirmed — it’s a girl! It was so fun to see her cute little face again, watch her mouth open and close, and see her little heart beating. I even got more photos [for the fridge]!

Dreamin’: I love when I have dreams of our baby girl. I just had one, but all I remember is Cory holding her when I got back [from somewhere] and feeling pure happiness and love when I saw her face and took her from his arms! And, the other part I remember — feeling like I was going to drop her. There always has to be an anxiety-driven part of the dream, I guess. In the past, the dreams were about forgetting to feed her, not having any food to give her, and not being prepared in general for a baby in the house. Yikes. 

As Seen on TV: Anybody watch “Up All Night”? [Super funny… watch it.] Anyway, “Chris+Reagan” have the high chair I’m planning to buy! It’s always weird to see something you own (or in my case, plan to own soon) on TV. Isn’t it? Check it out…

Up all Night.

Anyone have any opinions on which color I should get? I’m sure when the day comes that we have a baby boy (if that day comes), we probably won’t care if he sits in a pink highchair anyway, so I don’t want that to stop me from choosing the pink. 🙂

Holy Moly: I am now going to doctor appointments every two weeks and have scheduled the rest of them from here on out! And, it really puts things into perspective when I realize there is a chance I only have 9-10 weeks to go if I go into labor a little early!

Baby Purchases:

baby goods!

Is that chevron blanket not the cutest thing ever?? I have seen it at Target a couple times but it wasn’t at the Target in Woodbury. Instead of waiting in hopes of getting it as a gift off my registry (and for the fear that it would be gone by the time someone would potentially buy it), I scooped one up myself. I’m in love with it! Cory even commented on how he likes it and that is looks good with the new bassinet. 🙂

The Curse of the Curtains: Who would have thought picking out fabric for curtains would be so difficult? I thought I had a winner but my opinion changed the minute I saw it in person. It was too dark and earth-tonish, rather than soft, playful, and baby-ish. I then spent hours (yes, hours), on a Friday night, browsing fabric online in hopes of finding one that sparked my interested, without-a-doubt-in-my-mind. I found plenty that I love, but just cannot decide. This is where you come in. Please help. Here are my options, photoshopped into the room for the most the most accurate depiction. I think I know which is my favorite but would love to hear your thoughts too!

OR, my other thought is that I go with something completely opposite and keep it plain and neutral (white or white+grey pattern) for the curtains and use fun fabrics for accents around the room. This is me second guessing everything so the more insight I get from you guys, the better. Bring on the opinions!!

Is the neutral route too boyish with the orange zebra rug? I hope I’m not the only mama-to-be who has put a ridiculous amount of so much thought into this type of stuff! 🙂

Please vote!!

1. Highchair Color — Pink or Taupe?

2. Colored Curtains — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6?

3. Neutral Curtains — 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5?

4. Curtains — Colored or Neutral?