Baby bump update

Currently: 34 weeks along (only 27 weeks in this photo)

Estimated baby size:
A cantaloupe, so they say (about 4.75 pounds)

How's it going:
Still feeling very good overall! Some occasional back pain when sitting in one position for a while. I'm pretty energetic and rarely feel nauseous. Sleeping fine.

Baby movements:
The baby is constantly moving around! Lots of what feels like swimming and changing positions. Once in a while I feel baby hiccups, which is a pretty odd sensation. It's great to feel the baby move so often. It's even better that hubby gets to feel it all the time now, too.

Cravings:
Still nothing. What a bummer. Eating my fair share of ice cream, but hey, I want ice cream all the time. I'm just allowing myself a little more of it now. It's calcium, right? :)

Aversions:
The same -- no desire for canned tuna but no real aversions.

Missing:
The same -- chai tea lattes, fried eggs, and wine.

Looking forward to:
Getting the nursery walls painted. We've cleared out the room and started the process of painting the trim and the walls. No color choice yet, but we have a general idea of what we want to do in that room, and I think it'll look great once it's done!

Small steps in renovations

Our home renovations were paused for a while while hubby was out of town for work.  I made a few updates around the house, including:

(1) creating a gallery wall along the upstairs hallway, and
(2) in the guest bathroom, painting the window and door trim, and the door itself, a bright white.

Both of these small updates made a big impact in the feel of the second floor of our house.  The pictures fill up most of the large wall upstairs, and they are great reminders of trips we've taken together and places we love.  The bathroom trim used to be cream, and the white gives the room a much more modern and crisp look.

The guest bathroom is so close to being finished!  A friend of ours came over to help with the renovations, hanging an inexpensive white, vinyl blind from Home Depot (something like this) on the one window in the room and putting up two glass shelves in the open shelving area.  We bought the two glass shelves from a local shop that had them ordered to our exact measurements, and we placed the shelves atop L brackets that we bought at Home Depot as well. The coloring is off in this photo (the wall looks white instead of blue), but it shows off the shelves nicely.

We still need to:

• Choose and install a new light fixture above the mirror.
• Fix my paint job on the door, since you can see some inconsistencies in the application. This is likely due to the fact that I didn't sand the door at all before using a no-VOC primer/paint combination. (I don't want to inhale any dust from sanding while pregnant.)
• Install a vent - which we will have our contractor handle.

Currently, we are working on fixing the dining room walls and clearing out a bedroom for the nursery! Lots of work to be done....

 

It's a baby bump!

Currently: 19 weeks along (about 16 weeks in this photo)

Estimated baby size:
A large heirloom tomato

How's it going:
Feeling good! Mostly energetic, rarely feel nauseous. Sleeping fairly well. I might be coming down with a cold.

Baby movements:
I felt the baby move for the first time last week! The day I reached 18 weeks, I was sitting in a meeting at work and felt a little bubble movement. My eyes nearly popped out of my head! Since then I have felt it more often during the day. I LOVE feeling the baby move! Haven't noticed any patterns yet.

Cravings:
Nothing really. Wish there was something to report. Definitely have my sweet tooth back since my first trimester, when it was strangely gone.

Aversions:
Can't think of much. No desire for canned tuna since getting pregnant.

Missing:
Chai tea lattes (which would probably be OK to drink, I'm just being overly cautious) and fried eggs with really runny yolks. Wine comes in third.

Looking forward to:
My next sonogram! Can't wait to see the photos. Not going to find out the baby's sex. It'll be a great surprise on the baby's birthday.

We are almost done with Phase 1 of our guest bathroom renovation!  Here are a few items that are pulling the space together very nicely:

Including:

1. Urban Outfitters shower curtain

2. New white windows and white trim

3. Rome toilet paper holder (and matching towel rods), from Signature Hardware

4. Silver mirror, from Target

5. Toto toilet

6. Blue mosaic for an open shelving area, from Stone Source in downtown DC

We took down all the 1970s style wallpaper and painted the room a pretty blue that we had mixed at our local hardware store.

Everything looks great so far!  We still have to take care of a few more things:

• Finish painting the door trim and door white
• Install shelves in the open shelving unit
• Choose a new light and install it

Pictures of the room will be posted when it's done!

Road Trip Tips

With Thanksgiving and the holidays approaching, many people will be taking road trips to see family and friends.  We recently took two long road trips, driving for 10 hours each time from Boston to Washington, DC as part of our move.  Here are a few tips we will keep in mind for our next road trips.

1. Tolls:  there are a lot of tolls on long trips, so bring an E-Z Pass or cash with you. The E-Z Pass lets you skip long lines at the tolls, and the cash prevents you from stopping to get some or digging around on the floor!
   
2. Water:  bring a bottle of water or two, or preferably a reusable bottle that you can refill at a rest stop.  Sitting for hours without water can make you dehydrated, which will not help.
   
3. Sunglasses:  even if you bring a cheap pair, sunglasses will help when you're stuck on a long drive into the bright sun.
   
4. Trash bag:  bring a plastic bag for your trash from snacks, toll receipts, etc. that pile up during the day.
   
5. Phone charger:  we use this phone charger in the car, which allows us to use our phones for GPS and not run out of battery during the ride.
   
6. Truck lock:  if you are making a move in a big truck you rented, bring a truck lock.  It is important to keep your items safe when you stop or park overnight.  You can buy these at truck rental spots, but they will be cheaper elsewhere.
   
7. Rest stops:  if you only stop a few times along the way, you want the rest stop to have good food and caffeine options and to be clean!  We discovered a new Darien, Connecticut rest stop on Route 95.  It's by far the BEST rest stop I've ever been to -- the bathrooms are huge and clean, and they don't smell bad!  Big win.  You can use highway exits guides like this one to see what's available at each rest stop, including WiFi, ATM, picnic areas, gas, and rest rooms.  My favorite rest stop options?  Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks!

Have a safe road trip, and crank up the radio!

My Travel Musts

There are a few things that make travel easier for me. By sticking with these little tricks, I can focus more on the trip and less on what I might have forgotten or lost!  Here are some of my tricks, in no particular order:

1. Always have a big scarf, sweater, or long sleeve shirt for the airport -- either I'm wearing it to the airport, or it's in my carry on. Planes are often cold, and the extra warmth is almost always needed.

2. Place your carry on luggage onto the security belt LAST.  When I put my bags through the security check at the airport, I always put my carry on luggage last.  I take everything off the belt in order, and I won't forget the biggest piece of luggage I have!  That way, I won't forget something small on the security belt (like a cell phone or book).

3. Keep travel sizes of toiletries in a makeup bag, so they are ready to go when you're packing. Otherwise, I'm looking everywhere for shampoo or mini toothpaste, and I have to make a trip to the store to get something I probably already have in the house.  Here are the minis keep in the makeup bag: shampoo, conditioner, q-tips, band-aids, a few makeup minis, toothpaste, a comb, and a nail file.

4. Put in your carry-on or purse a snack that doesn't melt or get smushed easily.  Sometimes you find yourself unexpectedly stuck on a plane for 3 hours longer than you anticipated, and that snack can make you very happy! Good options include protein bars and nuts.

5. Have a designated place for your tickets/boarding passes.  My tickets are always in my wallet or book.  I don't put them anywhere else in my bags.  That way I always know where the tickets are!  It's nerve wracking looking through everything to find a boarding pass.  By keeping them in only 2 places, I cut down on stress and time spent looking for my tickets.

6. Make a list of things you need to remember the day you leave. I make a list of things I need to remember on a piece of paper, then leave it by my cell phone the night before I leave. As I'm packing and I remember little things that I need to make sure to do the day I leave, I can add them to the list.  For example: empty the trash, pack phone charger, water the plants.

I hope my travel musts are useful to you!

Tuscany

This is happening, and I am over the moon excited about it!

Gelato, wine, pasta, pizza, repeat.