Weekend review! Has spring sprung in Minnesota?

I hope everyone had a great weekend, we definitely did!  Minnesota has had quite the winter and I think everyone is ready for it to be done and some nice weather to arrive.  Thankfully we received a little dose of spring this weekend!

Friday night Mr. G and I spent the evening at home, we moved all of the stuff out of the nursery as the painter was coming to paint on Saturday morning.  So I packed everything up in a couple of baskets and we moved the changing table so he had room to work.  We had turkey burgers and salad for dinner and I was in bed early as I was pretty tired.

Saturday morning our painter arrived at 9:00am and started work on the nursery, we decided on gray walls with white trim and molding and a pink ceiling.  Mr. G was unsure about the pink ceiling but I promised him that once it was done he would like it. 
After we got the painter set up we left to enjoy breakfast with Mr. G's parents and his brother, sister in law and niece & nephew.  It was very nice to see them and enjoy breakfast, my MIL made ham strata which is an egg bake type dish with bread.  Very yummy! 

We left there just before noon and the sun was shining and it was close to 50 degrees outside, absolutely beautiful!  It was nice to ride in the car without a jacket and the heat cranked up.  We made a stop at Pottery Barn kids and purchased Baby G's curtains and curtain rod as they were having a sale.  It was so nice to be out and about...and not worry about the weather.

Saturday afternoon and evening we just enjoyed getting things done around the house, having the windows open and we ordered pizza for dinner.  The nursery turned out perfect, check back tomorrow for pictures and the week 25 bumpdate.

Sunday was another gorgeous day, the temperature got close to 60 degrees with sunshine!  We enjoyed church, a trip to Target and then went to my parents for Sunday dinner.  It was a great day and my dad made steak on the grill for dinner which was fantastic! 

So the question is...has spring sprung in Minnesota?  My answer...not quite yet, especially considering we had snow on May 3rd last year.

Wishing for consistent Spring weather!

With love,
Mrs. G

Bumpdate 24 weeks!

How far along: 24 weeks!
 

 

Baby Size: Head to heel Baby G is almost a foot in length and weighed in at 1 pound 6 ounces during the appointment last week.  She is about the size of a cantaloupe.  Her brain will develop quickly now and her taste buds are continuing to develop.  Her lungs are developing “branches” of the respiratory “tree” as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world.  Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Maternity Clothes: Yep and loving them!

Sleep: Sleep has been okay this week.

Gender: A sweet little GIRL!

Movement: Yes I am feeling Baby G move, it is still easier to feel her when I am sitting or lying down. 

Best moment this week:  Seeing our little lady via an ultrasound on Friday, we watched her lips move and her legs kick.  It was wonderful! 

Looking forward to: Getting the new windows in the nursery and being able to schedule the painter and order the crib; I am ready to start moving things along in the nursery.

Food cravings: Orange juice, toast with butter and steak…not any red meat, steak!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Labor Signs: Absolutely not!

What I miss: My favorite cheeses…brie, blue, etc.

Symptoms: Aside from the growing bump my center of gravity is definitely off a bit.  While putting dishes away yesterday I leaned forward like typical and just about fell on my face, after collecting myself I enjoyed a good laugh.

Nursery: We have chosen a crib and the colors for the nursery; as soon as the new windows are in we will schedule the painting and then order the crib!  Little Miss has so many wonderful things already, she is very blessed….one might even say a little spoiled.

Wedding rings on or off: On

Mood: Great! 
 

With love,
Mrs. G

 

Working from home...can you stay diligent?

I work for a local bank in Minneapolis in the specialized industries division, I have worked here for 7 years and most of the relationship managers I work with are located in Chicago so 90% of my work is done via email and phone with them.  Even my boss is located in Chicago.
After I found out I was pregnant and would spend the winter pregnant I informed Mr. G that we needed to purchase a new laptop and that I would be working from home during snow and cold weather.  So we headed to Best Buy and bought a nice laptop with cordless mouse, cleaned out the beautiful roll top desk that Mr. G was given and set up a little office area for the two of us.

As the winter progressed and the cold weather set in I started to work from home, I made sure to set myself up every morning at my little work station with my coffee and water just to make sure that I made it seem more like work.  The first couple of weeks I worked a couple of days from home and was very diligent about staying at my desk like I would at work and really concentrated.

Fast forward about two months to the last two weeks, I have worked from home about 3 days a week and love it!  I moved my little work station to our dining room table so I have more room and still set myself up each morning so I'm ready for the day.  But the last two weeks have been slightly different, I no longer get up and get dressed for work...I put on a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt and put my hair in a pony tail.  Although, I do try to be dressed with makeup on by around noon; that way when Mr. G gets home from work I am not still in my pajamas.
I turn the television in order to watch the Today show while working and enjoying my morning coffee.  I'm not going to lie...I LOVE WORKING FROM HOME!  Here is a pic of my little workstation today.



I am able to concentrate and focus on getting my work done, I check voicemail every hour on the hour so calls barely go unreturned for more than 55 minutes.  I have access to everything I need.  And with some nasty pregnancy insomnia, I was up for 3 hours last night, it is nice to be able to stay relaxed at home.

Let's talk about the perks though, aside from not having to get out of my comfy clothes until noon, I can throw in a load of laundry at any time, I am able to get dinner started so we aren't eating at 8pm, I eat better...I never go out for lunch and choose better snacks than when I'm at the office, I find that I drink more water because I have easier access to filtered water (at the office I have to go from the 3rd floor to the 1st floor) and of course it is fun to be at home just relaxed and working.  Oh let's not forget, I can write a blog with an extra 10 minutes:)

Are you able to stay diligent if you were able to work from home?  Or maybe you do work from home, how do you stay focused and diligent on your work?

I'm very excited to be able to spend 12 weeks home with Baby G and then enjoy the perks of working from home 2-3 days a week.  I know how lucky I am that this is even an option and I intend to continue doing a great job so I am able to keep this perk.

Hope you are having a great week!


With love,
Mrs. G

Bumpdate 23 weeks!

How far along: 23 weeks!

 

 

 

Baby Size: Head to heel Baby G is about 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound. She is about the size of a grapefruit. She is more aware of voices and noises from the outside, as well as the sound of my heartbeat and gurgling tummy.  Loud noises that she hears now like the vacuum cleaner will hopefully not bother her once she is here.

 

Maternity Clothes: Yep and loving them!

 

Sleep: Sleep has not been great; I wake up often during the night and am awake for anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 hours.

 

Gender: A sweet little GIRL!

 

Movement: Yes I am feeling Baby G move, it is still easier to feel her when I am sitting or lying down.  She has very specific active times, usually about 30 minutes after I eat and around 9:00pm each night.

 

Best moment this week: Mr. G was able to feel her move one night last week, it was a wonderful moment for both of us.  She put on quite the show for her dad, kicking and wiggling for about 20 minutes.

 

Looking forward to: Our 24 week appointment this Friday, we will get to see her again as we need better pictures of her face and her heart.  Hopefully the ultrasound tech can get some good pictures that we can bring home with us.

 

Food cravings: Orange juice, toast with butter and I guess I should add steak...clearly my body is craving iron!

 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

 

Labor Signs: Absolutely not!

 

What I miss: Nothing much.

 

Symptoms: The growing bump and ligament pain on the right side of my stomach which I will be asking the doctor about.  My 23 week info says to be prepared for swelling and I'm happy to report that I have not had any swelling as of yet, I attribute it to the amount of water I am drinking each day.  Let's hope this continues. 

 

Nursery: We have chosen a crib and the colors for the nursery, now to arrange the painter and then order the crib! Little Miss has so many wonderful things already, she is very blessed….one might even say a little spoiled.

 

Wedding rings on or off: On

 

Mood: My mood has been pretty good this week, a couple moments of emotional prego stuff but nothing too bad.  Here's to hoping week 24 is even better:)

With love,
Mrs. G

Bumpdate 22 weeks!

How far along: 22 weeks!

 

Baby Size: Head to heel Baby G is about 11 inches long and weighs just under a pound.  She is about the size of a papaya.  Her lips, eyelids and eyebrows are becoming more distinct and her eyes have developed however her irises (the colored part of the eye) lack pigment.  She is likely sleeping in cycles, about 12-14 hours a day.

Maternity Clothes: Yep and loving them!

Sleep: Sleep has not been great; I wake up often during the night and am awake from anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Gender: A sweet little GIRL!

Movement: Yes I am feeling Baby G move, it is still easier to feel her when I am sitting or lying down.  I’m sure it won’t be long before her kicks and jabs are felt on the outside, Mr G. is looking forward to being able to feel her.

Best moment this week: Feeling her little kicks, it’s like her way of reminding me she is there. 

Looking forward to: Seeing my friend Courtney (this Saturday) and meeting her fiancé for the first time!

Food cravings: Orange juice and toast with butter!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Labor Signs: Absolutely not!

What I miss: Nothing much.

Symptoms: The growing bump! 

Nursery: We have chosen a crib and the colors for the nursery, now to arrange the painter and then order the crib!  Little Miss has so many wonderful things already, she is very blessed….one might even say a little spoiled.

Wedding rings on or off: On

Mood: Great! 

 

With love,

Mrs. G



 

Weekend review!

The last 2-3 weeks we have been extremely busy, between family events, doctors appointments, general errands and other stuff I felt like we had not been home at all.  I was beginning to feel the exhaustion and need to be at home so thankfully we were able to be home this weekend.

Friday night Mr. G had an appointment outside of the city so he was going to be a little late and I of course had no idea what to have for dinner.  If I'm being honest I was also having a bit of an emotional afternoon, I just could not get a handle on my emotions.  I was crying one minute and just when I thought I had my emotions under control I would just burst into tears again.  Oh the joys of pregnancy emotions.

My wonderful husband offered to pick up Chinese food from a local favorite and agreed to snuggle in bed and watch a movie.  I seriously don't know what I would do without him, he is patient and incredible when I need him to be.

So we enjoyed really yummy Chinese food and watched a terrible movie.  I was so excited for Identity Thief with Melissa McCarthy, I thought it was going to be hilarious.  It turned out to be terrible and just kind of sad.  Mr. G hated it but suffered through it for me.  We were in bed early Friday night, just what we needed.

Saturday we enjoyed coffee and breakfast at home on a quiet Saturday morning...I don't think that has happened in weeks.  Our nephew was playing hockey at a local rink so we went to watch one of his games, we try to get to as many as we can but typically it is only 2 a season.  After hockey we enjoyed lunch with Mr. G's brother and nephew at a little hamburger & malt shop.  It was so yummy, an old fashion chocolate malt tasted so good!

Saturday afternoon we started the registry process for Baby G, we decided to start at Babys-R-US and just have a good time.  It was really fun and we picked some great items, I will put together a blog about the items we chose.  I will mention that the one item we are going to splurge on will be our stroller, we really want a nice stroller that we can take Baby G out in.  And since I am due in July I will hopefully want to get out and go for a walk with the baby after she is here and I'm cleared to start working out again.

Saturday evening we had a quick easy dinner again, not the healthiest weekend but definitely relaxing:)  I took a long hot shower and was in bed at 9pm, it was wonderful.

Sunday we enjoyed church and Mr. G went skating with his other brother and nephew.  We made dinner together, it was fun as that is something we love to do together but a busy life sometimes gets in the way.

Overall it was a nice and quiet weekend, we were both sad to see it come to an end. 

With love,

Mrs. G

Bumpdate 21 weeks!

How far along: 21 weeks!

 

Sorry about the quality of the pics, not great.

Baby Size: Head to heel Baby G is about 10.5 inches long and weighs approximately three quarters of a pound.  She is about the size of a pomegranate.  She has developed eyebrows and eye lids and her digestive system starts to prep for the outside world.  She is manufacturing meconium (I had to explain to Mr. G what it is, yuck.)  Baby G is definitely growing stronger as there are times when I feel like she is a little jumping bean in there.

Maternity Clothes: Yep and loving them!

 

Sleep: Sleep has been okay, I have learned that my movements need to be slower especially rolling over to my other side and getting out of bed. 

Gender: A sweet little GIRL!

 

Movement: Yes I am feeling Baby G move, she has very specific active times.  Mainly about 30 minutes after I eat something and she seems to like the mornings the best.  Late last week I rolled over to my left side at about 4am and I rolled a little too far, she gave me a good little kick…almost to tell me “hey, you’re squishing me!”  I rolled back just a little and she calmed down.  

Mr. G is nervous that she and I are already not getting along;)

Best moment this week: The best moments have to be feeling her kicking and moving around, it really is a crazy feeling.  Mr. G is very anxious to be able to feel her from the outside.  Also, we started putting together a baby registry at Baby’s R Us and Target; we had a good time browsing the baby stuff.

Looking forward to: I am so excited to get started on the nursery, we have decided on a crib and nursery paint colors.

Food cravings: Orange juice and toast with butter!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Labor Signs: Absolutely not!

What I miss: Nothing much.

Symptoms: The main thing this week has been ligament pain, if I move too quickly or turn the wrong way it is really painful.  The pain is mainly on the right side and lower region of my stomach.  I've read about it and all my symptoms seem to be pointing to ligament pain (stretching and growing will cause pain), I will confirm with the doctor in a couple of weeks.  Guess it is time to start slowing down.  The "bump" has made an appearance; my younger sister saw me on Tuesday (after attending our gender reveal party on Sunday) and exclaimed, "you look pregnant!"  We had a good laugh but she really meant that in two days the bump had become even more present.

Nursery: We have chosen a crib and the colors for the nursery, now to arrange the painter and then order the crib!  Little Miss has so many wonderful things already, she is very blessed….one might even say a little spoiled.

Wedding rings on or off: On

Mood: Great! 

 
With love,

Mrs. G