Week 25 - 15 weeks to go!

My first Milball dress option

Countdown: 2 days till the end of classes, 15 days till Graduation, 20 days until I move back home, 73 days till my 22nd birthday, 77 days till my baby shower, 105 days till baby arrives!

Time is flying along! This week I had my last doctor’s appointment here in DC w. Dr. Beckerman. He is a fantastic doctor and I would recommend him to anyone. His office is a little frustrating as they have screwed up some insurance paperwork in the past, but overall, I had a great experience. Baby’s heartbeat is going strong & everything overall is going great! I can’t believe I’m already 25 weeks…only 15 weeks left to go. Crazy how fast my pregnancy is moving along. 

My parents ordered the crib last week and received it, however, one of the railings was dented, so now we need to wait for the replacement to come in so my dad can put it all together. I can’t wait to see what it all looks like once the room is set up! We painted 3 of the walls a tan/beige color and the 4^th wall is a light blue. I’ll post pics of the room soon! I can’t wait to go home and start decorating. I have so many ideas on what I want the room to look like. It’s going to look amazing!

My lovely Milball dates!

Last night was Milball, last big event of my MS4 year (as I’ll be commissioning in 2013). I took Laura A as my date although her and Laura T were pretty much both my dates. I’m so happy I was able to spend it with them & with the rest of the 4s. Food was amazing, took a picture of my delicious Filet Mignon. Yum! I devoured it pretty much as soon as I took the pic. Afterwards, we were served some delicious chocolate cake (thank God! As I have been hardcore craving some!) We took tons of pictures and overall had a really good time. Afterwards, Laura T and I went to the Milball party. It took everything in me not to just go to bed when we got home from Millball. I went, and discovered I definitely can’t party like I used to, and parties aren’t as fun when your 100% sober, stuffed in a “frat house” basement with 100 other people, sweating and completely unable to move around (especially with a big belly in front of you). Not going to lie though, I miss that! Oh well, that phase of my life is over and it was fun while it lasted! 

Delicious Filet Mignon

Party favor glass & name card

Looking real tired in this picture.

How far along: 25 weeks
Total weight gain: 10 lbs
Maternity clothes?: Yea, but I can still squeeze into my old jeans (thanks to the hair tie trick!) and my non-maternity shirts.
Stretch marks?: Nada!
Belly button, in or out?: Out..no denying it anymore
Sleep: Been going to sleep kind of late recently. Need to get back to my early bedtime. AND I no longer wake up in the middle of the night needing to pee like a racehorse!
Cravings: Chocolate cake, brownies, chocolate chip cookies…etc.
Showing yet?: No hiding it!
Happy or Moody?: Happy! School is almost over, and I’m heading back home so soon!
Movement: All day, every day. I can see my stomach shape-shifting under my clothes
Best moment this week: Mil ball last night w. my best friends =)
Things I miss: Being able to sit or stand for more than 5 minutes without getting tired and needing to sit
Gender: BOY!
Looking forward to: Graduation and going home! & for the arrival of the crib back home!
Due Date: August 11^th

How your baby's growing

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Week 24 - 16 weeks to go!

Countdown: 9 days till the end of classes, 22 days till Graduation, 27 days until I move back home, 80 days till my 22nd birthday, 84 days till my baby shower, 112 days till baby arrives! So probably the most exciting things this week were feeling my first rib kick and deciding to try to go to graduate school while back home waiting on my commission.  The rib kick felt so weird. I could swear I poked the little foot to get him to stop…maybe it was a fist. Either way, it was pretty cool! Going along with that, now I can really see my stomach moving around and shifting in shape as the baby moves his arms, legs or whole body. Sometimes I can see a big lump on one side of my belly if his leg is sticking straight up or maybe he’s pushing his butt or head against me. It can get kind of uncomfortable, but it’s making this so much more real to me. It’s one thing to know or say that you are pregnant and not have gotten bigger or not yet feel the baby, but it’s a whole other thing when you can literally see the baby moving around inside of you.  On the school side of things, after talking about it with my mom, and in a kind of snap decision, I decided to take the GRE and apply to a graduate school program back home and attempt to get my masters in criminal justice. As of right now, I’m only applying to one program, and since the due date for the application is in mid-May, I’m now taking the GRE in 10 days! Yikes. I’m all signed up, have an online program, ordered a book and DVD and finished all my other school work. Now I need to just buckle down and study my butt off so I can do well on this. If I get accepted to the program starting in the Fall, I’ll be a part time student working on an advanced degree! I never thought I would ever even consider grad school, but now it’s something I really want to do. After all, I think that this will be the time for me to do so before my future in the Army begins and becoming a working mom becomes more demanding. I’m so happy I have the support of my parents in this because otherwise it would be virtually impossible. All I need to do now is ace the GRE and get accepted to this program. Fingers crossed! If it doesn’t work out, I can always try again at a later date.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous out this whole week, and I was able to lay out & enjoy (virgin) cocktails with my girls (the Lauras) :) We made amazing pasta salad, got ice cream, laid out in the sun, went out for dinner and drinks...so great! It's awesome being able to just hang out with your close friends and have a great support system all around you.  Here is a link to the recipe for the pasta salad. Not going to lie, possibly one of the most delicious things I have ever made. And it was SO EASY to make! Definitely worth a try!  So yummy! allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creamy-Pesto-Pasta-Salad-with-Chicken-Asparagus-and-Cherry-Tomatoes/Detail.aspx?prop24=etaf    How far along: 24 weeks Total weight gain: 9 pounds-ish Maternity clothes?: Yup. Finally was able to takeout some long dresses and maternity shorts for the gorgeous weather! Stretch marks?: Nothing! And I finally received my amazing Mustela anti-stretch mark cream which smells awesome and is apparently very reputable as actually working for the majority of people who used it. Belly button, in or out?: Half in, half out…kinda. Sleep: Still sleeping awesome, but my back has been killing me recently. Cravings: Raspberries. Yum! Showing yet?: Yup Happy or Moody?: Happy/Anxious Movement: All the time..and this week I felt my first rib kick! It wasn’t painful this time, but I’m sure as he gets bigger and stronger, the kick will get more powerful and painful. Can’t wait… Best moment this week: Completing the last of my research papers. So close to the end! Things I miss: Being super tan. Gotta slather myself in sunscreen now so I don’t burn or get the dreaded pregnancy sun spots on my face that apparently never go away. Gender: BOY! Looking forward to: Graduation and going home! Due Date: August 11th How your baby's growing: Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long , about the size of an ear of corn, he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Week 23 - 17 weeks to go!

Countdown: 16 days till the end of classes, 29 days till Graduation, 35-40 days until I move back home, 87 days till my 22nd birthday, 91 days till my baby shower, 119 days till baby arrives!

Nothing really eventful happened this week, had class and work everyday; getting so much closer to the end and to graduation. Its so hard to believe that I'll be done with college in less than a month. Thank God!! I'm also really happy to be moving back home for a couple of months...it will be the longest I have lived at home since high school, will definitely take some getting used to. At this point I just need to get out of DC and clear my head back with my family and get ready for the next phase in my life. Still have a lot of baby preparations to take care of to include finding myself a new doctor, picking a hospital to deliver at, finding a pediatrician, take a lamaze/birthing class, etc etc.
I've continued to edit my baby registry and am getting really excited for my baby shower! I registered at Babies r Us and am considering BuyBuyBaby because they have a lot of cute stuff too...we'll see. Might just be easier to keep it all on one site. Its honestly really hard to think of everything I could possibly need...although I have taken care of quite a few babies/toddlers, I feel like I'm forgetting so much. Luckily though, I feel like I'm really prepared in terms of actually taking care of him considering for the last 2 years now, I've been taking care of 4 adorable kids...all since they were born! I'm so excited to have my own little boy to take care of.

Name announcement: I wanted to keep this kind of secret for as long as possible, but I can't help but announce it! Little man's name will be... *drum roll*....Michael David DeCaudin-Fernandez!

I love the name so much, and they carry such awesome meanings...
Michael - "who is like God" ...meaning no one is like God...Michael the archangel, leader of the Army of God; patron saint of the military and law enforcement. How appropriate!
David - after baby's daddy...means "beloved". Great name as this baby will be the most loved little boy in the world :)

How far along: 23 weeks
Total weight gain: 9 pounds I think?
Maternity clothes?: Yes, and managing to still kind of squeeze into my pre-maternity jeans…its getting real close.
Stretch marks?: Nothing!
Belly button, in or out?: The top is totally sticking out when I stand up, but when I lay down its flat!
Sleep: I have been less tired, so I go to bed around 10 instead of 9..usually
Cravings: Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate
Showing yet?: No hiding it…at all.
Happy or Moody?: Happy-ish
Movement: All the time!
Best moment this week: Sun is coming back out…finally!
Things I miss: Home. Just wanna go back to NY!
Gender: BOY!
Looking forward to: Graduation. Can’t come soon enough!
Due Date: August 11^th

How your baby's growing:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound, just about as large as a large mango; you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Pictures of baby items!

Below are all the pictures of the baby items I mentioned in the previous post:


Above is the bassinet - Contours Classique 3-in-1 Bassinet.






To the left is the crib + changing table combo - Sorelle Princeton 4-in-1 Convertible Crib and Changer - Espresso











To the right is the matching dresser - Sorelle Princeton 4 Drawer Dresser - Espresso













Next is the crib bedding! So if you look in the picture below, you'll see the general blue and brown theme. In the set that I got, included was the quilt, fitted sheets, dust ruffle, bumper, diaper stacker, and window valence. (Preston Baby Crib Bedding by CoCaLo) I also bought the little lamp on the dresser, and I plan on buying the mobile which has dangling brown bears...so cute! The other stuff on the walls is a little over the top...

Week 22 & baby supplies!

Time is flying! I’m home for Easter break and I’m loving it. The train ride was amazing, so short and so much more comfortable than taking a bus, I just wish it was a little less expensive. After I got into the city, my dad met up with me and we got burgers. YUM. Then I hopped back onto the train to get home where my mom picked me up! Didn’t really do too much that night, I just hung out at home and went to bed pretty early. Next day I woke up nice and early and went to Homegoods with my mom – best store in the world!! I cannot wait to shop there for little decorative nicnacs for baby’s room! What was unfortunate was how small the little boys section was…tons of girls stuff and hardly any boy stuff. Lame.

We then discovered the most amazing kids consignment store ever. “Once Upon a Child.” (http://www.onceuponachild.com/) Went inside and the first thing we found was the most beautiful bassinet! Pretty much new! Its multi-functional, so its got the bassinet basket on top, so you can remove it and bring it around the house with you; a changing table platform that affixes to the top of the bassinet and easily stores at the bottom, two baskets at the bottom for storing random items, and a little hanging organizer on the. side for diapers, wipes, creams, etc. Plus the whole thing is on wheels, so I can wheel it around the room and the house! I absolutely love it. Retail price at Toys-R-Us: $180, we got it barely used for $80. Saved $100!! Absolutely thrilled with this find. Will come in so useful during the first few months.

Yesterday, mom and I went to Babies-R-Us conveniently located about a 3 minute drive from my house, and started putting together all the items that I want for my registry. I had picked a few big things online already (crib, dresser, stroller, high chair) and wanted to check them out in person to make sure they were sturdy, comfortable and looked good. Thank goodness I did so, because the stroller I originally selected turned out to be crap, and the crib and dresser were AWESOME but I decided to get them in Espresso because the Cherry color was way too bright and girly. The crib is one of the things I am most excited about. It’s one of those 4-in-1 cribs that convert to toddler beds and eventually a full size bed, and also has a changing table with drawers and shelves attached to it. Looking at it online, I wasn’t sure how sturdy and solid the wood was, but as it turns out, it is an amazing piece of furniture! I definitely recommend it.

We then went to TJ Maxx, just with the intention of strolling around and not really buying anything, but I ended up finding an amazing crib bedding set that I absolutely had to buy. It is the exact color scheme I was looking for (blues and browns) and was beautiful. All the bedding sets we had seen previously in stores were pretty expensive, ranging from about $125-$200. Yikes! This one was on sale for $40. I looked online to see how much it retailed for…$170! On sale with it, was the matching lamp, on sale for $10, retails for $52. I made out like a bandit! I looked online to see the other items that match the bedroom set, and I plan on ordering the mobile, as it is just way too cute to pass up.

Overall, I LOVE everything I have accumulated so far! A family friend has given us tons of clothes already, most of which still have tags on them! I’ve also sorted through all my stuffed animals, and washed a few of them which will make really cute accessories for the room, and furry friends to cuddle with as he gets older! Now all that’s left is to paint the room; I’m picking up paint samples today to start experimenting with different blues, tans, beiges, browns…I never realized how many different shades of one color there could be. I can’t wait to be back in May to see the finished product and start decorating the room!

How far along: 22 weeks – 18 to go!
Total weight gain: 7 pounds still!
Maternity clothes?: Still wearing them…
Stretch marks?: Nothing!
Belly button, in or out?: Flatish…but not really. The top is sticking out L
Sleep: Less tired than I used to be, but when I go to sleep I have to put a pillow under my stomach..its getting heavier!
Cravings: Chocolate fudge brownies…not healthy at all..
Showing yet?: Yes..saw someone from high school and her mom in the store the other day, and her mom stared at my stomach with the most horrified look on her face. Awkward..
Happy or Moody?: Happy!!
Movement: So much movement! Kicking all day long…!
Best moment this week: Going home for Easter to see my parents and brother!
Things I miss: Being home..I don’t want to leave!!
Gender: BOY!
Looking forward to: Graduating and coming back home for a little while!
Due Date: August 11^th

How your baby's growing:

At 11 inches, the length of a spaghetti squash, and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Week 21!

I've been so busy, I haven't had any time to make any updates to my little blog. But in terms of exciting things that are going on, I had my doctor's appointment last Monday and discovered that I can officially refer to my baby as a he! :) It's crazy, but knowing the gender makes being pregnant an even more emotional and exhilarating experience and I really felt like it brought me closer to my baby. Up until now, being pregnant hasn’t feel completely real to me, and sometimes I’d wake up forgetting that I was pregnant. Now, I think about the fact that I’m becoming (or arguably already am) a mother for probably 80-90% of my day. Not to mention, now it’s hard to forget considering baby is kicking me all day long! I know I should be relishing the time that I am pregnant, but all I want to do is fast forward to August and meet him and get started on this whole new, stressful yet exciting life of motherhood.

I’m so happy this week is over. I’ve had a TON of work to do for school, not to mention everything that needed to be done in preparation for the LAB 6 training event on Saturday. Speaking of which, minus the chaos that was arguably inflicted by cadre themselves, the day went well overall. I was exhausted even though I was doing absolutely nothing but sitting at the TOC. Sitting and standing have become quite uncomfortable – especially when in uniform. I managed to sneak away for a few minutes and lay down on the ground to relieve my back pain, but even that wasn’t entirely comfortable. I obviously crashed as soon as I got home and showered.

Yesterday was a good day overall. I woke up super early with the intention of dedicating my entire day to writing my thesis paper, which may or may not have been extremely over ambitious. I did manage to complete about 14-16 pages, (some of the material I haven’t decided if I want to keep it) which I thought was a really good start. It helped that I had all my sources already and a solid outline to work off of. I then spent the rest of the day with David and his friends eating fried turkey and ice cream (not at the same time!) It was really nice to be able to get out of the apartment and socialize with friends I hadn’t seen in a long while. :)

This morning I made an emergency trip to the doctor’s because I thought I was leaking amniotic fluid = very bad. Yesterday, I had gotten up from a chair and my pants were soaked…I thought it was just a wet seat cushion, but after talking to my mom, David’s mom (a Labor & Delivery nurse) and researching online, I thought I should err on the side of caution and get checked. Leaking amniotic fluid this early is usually a sure sign that something has gone terribly wrong, and the likelihood of continuing the pregnancy is very unlikely. Thankfully, after getting checked out by the doctor, and having another ultrasound done, turns out everything is fine, and that (this is gross) I may have peed my pants without realizing it….an equally terrifying thought. I’m just going to go with the idea that the seat cushion was already wet before I sat on it. It was cool getting another little ultrasound though and seeing baby again – (definitely still a boy!)

How far along: 21 weeks 2 days
Total weight gain: 7 pounds total so far
Maternity clothes?: On and off, I can still kind of squeeze myself into my regular clothes depending on what it is.
Stretch marks?: Nothing at all. Thank God! (Hopefully it stays like this)
Belly button, in or out?: Flat, although the top is creeping out a little bit.
Sleep: Sleeping great, but waking up with the horrible feeling of needing to pee SO BAD is really annoying.
Cravings: Baby carrots. So good and so healthy.
Showing yet?: Yup. Must be super obvious since someone gave their seat up on the bus for me the other day after checking out my stomach.
Happy or Moody?: Happier!
Movement: This little boy is kicking and punching all day long. I feel like I'll be giving birth to a kick boxer.
Best moment this week: A few things, (mostly personal stuff) but one of the biggest was finding out that baby is a BOY!
Things I miss: My family :(
Gender: BOY!
Looking forward to: Going home for Easter! I cant wait to finally see my family & friends again, even if its just for a few days.
Due Date: August 11th

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.