Lil Arch's baby showers

This past weekend wrapped up our baby showers for Lil Arch. Two beautiful days shared with family and friends celebrating the anticipated arrival of the long-legged goober! The weather was phenomenal both days and thankfully the rain held off until the very very end of the celebrations.

I had everyone at both showers fill our a Baby Wishes card. I had done something similar with Wedding Wishes and I loved reading everyone's advice and thoughts. So I figured it would be special for our lil one to someday go back and read what people wrote to him/her.

Now available in my Etsy shop! 
100% customizable baby wishes cards available for purchase.

The Archambault/Rinehart shower was on Sunday, August 19th and was hosted by my mother- and sister-in-laws. Had a ton of family and friends show up and had a great time with lots of super gifts. Everyone was asked to pick their gender guess by either wearing a sheriff's badge or beaded necklace. Surprisingly the votes were super close... 16 votes for a boy and 17 votes for a girl! My sister-in-law Sarah also came up with this awesome print of a giraffe and a naked tree and all family members placed a yellow fingerprint on the tree. What an awesome representation of Lil Arch's family tree!

Baby Arch's family tree

Gender guess... boy or girl?

Lil Arch's aunts and super hostesses

Lil Arch's great-grandmas

Lil Arch's Aunt Z

A beautiful quilt made with so much love by Mama Z

Lil Arch's grandmas

Me and Mama Z

Grandma-Next-Door's awesome animal print quilt!

The Neiser/Zylstra shower was on Sunday, August 26th and was hosted by my Aunt Cindy, Aunt Judy, Aunt Linda and Grandma Neiser. Everything from the food to the cake to the decor was fantastic! More awesome gifts and time spent with family and friends.

Duckies takin' a bubble bath

Ducky cake from Ryke's... nom!

Grandma's gender appropriate carrot cake. Boy and girl side - with and without nuts

Aunt Linda's awesome homemade baby cookies

My sister... lookin' hot while chiseling away at a baby in an ice cube

Grandma and Aunt Z are anxious for Lil Arch to get here!

One of many quilts making their way from Cali... thank you Aunt Bernie!

Fawn and I... and our bumps

My amazing aunts who hosted a fantastic shower!

Female Neiser cousins

A HUGE thank you to Mama Z who has spent her entire summer sewing just about every major item for our nursery. My incredible mother made, from scratch, the crib skirt, bumper pads, four sets of sheets/pillow cases, two changing pad covers, a beautiful quilt, nursery curtain and a handful of bibs. Not to mention all the painting, errand running, gift-buying, etc. she has done to help me out. I heart you Mama Z! 

25 weeks

Lil Arch is the size of a cauliflower now! The average fetus measures about 13.6 to 14.8 inches and weighs about 1.5 to 2.5 pounds. Baby now enjoys the new sense of equilibrium and can tell which way is up and which is down. He/she is also busy growing more hair and fattening up (wow, something else we have in common).  ;)

25 weeks

Total weight gain/loss:

My doctor and I apparently have very different numbers for weight gain, but hers are lower... so roughly 16-18 lbs. And growing and growing and growing... 

Milestones:

Our level II ultrasound indicated that the choroid plexus cyst was gone and no other abnormalities were found. Yay for super awesome news! I also saw the baby move on Monday. Any movements have been super muffled so I was beyond excited to see a limb come poking out of the side of my belly. Still very subtle and few and far in between, but miraculous and exciting just the same.

I'm also coming up on my glucose test in 3 weeks. Then, after that, I'm already at bi-weekly doctor's appointments. It was so weird to schedule those appointments as well as my weekly ones. Ready or not, Lil Arch is on its way!

...and because I'm such a nerd, here's a peak at my blob-like body over the last few months. Pregnancy animated gifs... who does that?! Shameful.

Maternity clothes:

I hate shopping for maternity clothes. :( I was on a mission last weekend to find a "little" black maternity dress for my sister-in-law's November wedding. Fail. Yes, maternity clothes manufacturers, I'd like to feel like a frumpy whale in an outfit resembling a Hefty garbage bag with straps. Nothing would make me feel sexier. Mama Z and I ventured out last night and luckily found one at Target.

I also purchased two more pairs of leggings and a pair of maternity jeans to hopefully tide me over. I also grabbed my own men's large tshirt since Clay apparently doesn't like me depleting his shirt supply. I love that this amazing weather has allowed me to wear skirts to work, but I'm afraid it's going to get super cold all of a sudden and I'm going to be S.O.L. So yeah, it may be 30 degrees out, but I'll be the one truckin' across the parking lot in a skirt or pair of capris. Oh well. I wonder what work's policy is on showing up in sweatpants and one of Clay's tshirts... hmmmmm, better consult the handbook.

Stretch marks:

Still none. Thank you god of awesome genetics! The linea nigra (that creepy dark line down the center of your belly) hasn't shown up either yet. Phew. 

Sleep:

Sleep still sucks and is pretty much non-existant. Jumpy, crampy legs with burning feet attached to them. I thought Clay beat me up in my sleep the other night because when I woke up, my head was throbbing, chest was so tight I could barely breath, both calves cramped up and super sore pelvic joints. Nothin' like feeling like a million bucks first thing in the morning. Plus when I'm super tired in the late afternoons or evenings and I take a short nap, that usually means no falling back asleep until the wee hours of the morning. 

Best moment last week:

Besides the good news from the doctor about the CPC and seeing/feeling the baby move, Clay and his buddy moved the crib and dressers into the nursery after we got done painting and had new carpet installed. I LOVE our nursery. I absolutely cannot wait until we get our glider and closet organizer in along with all the rest of the nursery goodies!

Aaaaaaand... hearing the ultrasound tech say that baby's new "due date" was opening day of gun season was priceless. Oh karma, you silly lil boy... 

Movement:

I think since the movements aren't occurring that often and they're very subtle, I forget sometimes that there's a baby in there and it's not just my stomach growling at me. Seeing it finally move was such a special moment... keep kickin' all you want lil dude/dudette! 

Food cravings:

I had a healthy food rampage last week. Lots of fruit concoctions swimming through my blender and protein and spinach for lunches. I also made my flaxseed energy balls and chocolate avocado fudge for my sweet treats. Also, my name is Andrea and I haven't had an Oreo in almost 4 weeks. 

Gender:

Still holding strong and still don't know. Thank you ultrasound techs for not spilling the beans!

Labor signs:

Still too early.

Belly button in/out: 

Still in innie, but it's slowly flattening out. Aaaaahhh, the horror! I don't like weird belly buttons!! 

Annoyances:

Not being able to lift ANYTHING and always hobbling around like a 90 year old lady.

Mood swings:

Still no tolerance for your 'tude. None. I will become very pissy and then probably cry. That's just how it is. Give me a hug or walk away. 

What I miss:

Fitting into clothes. My bland and tiny wardrobe gets smaller and less acceptable by the day. It was a sad day when I had to change out of my sweatpants into a pair of Clay's because my own elastic waisted pants were too tight. Booooo. 

What I'm looking forward to:

BABY SHOWERS! The Archambault shower is this Sunday and the Neiser/Zylstra shower is next Sunday. I cannot wait. My need to nest is consuming me, but the OCD says I can't start washing and organizing baby stuff until I have everything I need. Aaaaah inner turmoil! 

Level II ultrasound finding: CPC results

First of all, I want to sincerely thank everyone for all their prayers and for sharing their stories with me after we found out a choroid plexus cyst was detected in Lil Arch's first ultrasound. Even hearing other pregnancy horror stories helped me put things into perspective and really understand that almost everyone experiences similar fears during their own 9 month roller coaster. Well, once again, God's grace and the the power of prayer have prevailed as the level II ultrasound detected no signs of the cyst or any other abnormalities! The long-legged goober was once again given a clean bill of health. Even though the ultrasound tech commented that she didn't see anything during our ultrasound, I still was hesitant to rejoice until we were given the final confirmation from our doctor.

Up next is my glucose test in 3 weeks. Oh goody. After that, however, my appointments go from monthly to bi-weekly. I also have my first baby shower this Sunday (Archambault side) and the Zylstra/Neiser shower the following Sunday. Ooooooh man, shit's gettin' real. I absolutely cannot wait to get the nursery completely set up!  :)

Again, thank you everyone for the overwhelming amount of prayers. We are so grateful for the good news rather than having to play the waiting game for a few more months. Bless you all! xoxo

24 weeks

Wednesday marked the beginning of week 24 for Baby Arch. The lil one is the size of a cantaloupe this week weighing 12.7 to 20.8 ounces at 10.5 to 11.8 inches long! (Probably longer with these genes.) Baby's skin is gradually becoming more opaque and is starting to have a pink glow due to newly formed capillaries.

Last night we had our follow up Level II ultrasound. The purpose of this was to see if the choroid plexus cyst (CPC) was still present, growing or completely gone at this point. I was very excited to have both Clay and Mama Z there. Even though the ultrasound went way too quickly and we didn't get to see as many cool views as last time, the technician stated that she did not see any signs of the cyst. I don't know if they'll go back and take a closer look later or if that was the final diagnosis, but we'll have a for sure answer on Tuesday when we go see the OB. Fingers crossed!

The ultrasound lady also informed us that Lil Arch apparently had a growth spurt over the last four weeks. All measurements pointed towards almost 26 weeks! How crazy that he/she has been dead on with the measurements the entire timeline and then all of a sudden jumps ahead nearly two weeks. She said we're looking at a due date of November 15 now. Bahaha, thank you gods of anti-hunting! This lady could be way off on her prediction, but it was hilarious to hear her say opening day as a due date. Oh karma...

Other than the ultrasound, things are still going (and growing) well. Leg cramps are starting up... oh goody. Went on a grocery shopping spree the other day and loaded up on lots of "must-eat pregnancy foods." I kinda fell off the bandwagon with eating my fruits and veggies, but this week I'm back on track full force. Been trying new smoothies and shakes too. I figure texture is no longer an issue with my fruits once they've taken a spin through the blender. Problem solved.

Will probably schedule my glucose tolerance test next week. Hopefully that's no big deal. I've also had two more people approach me at work this week and say "I had no idea you were pregnant!" Um, how did the large bump in my shirt not give that away? Are people beginning to think that this weight gain is strictly from my Oreo bingeing? Crap.

Nursery is coming along b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l-l-y! Carpet was installed on Monday (thank you Mama Z for coming over mid day to supervise installation while we were at work!) Clay installed a nice new light fixture/ceiling fan in the nursery and assembled the crib. Thank you to Mark too for helping move the rest of the furniture in... even though you thought you were only coming over to shoot your bow. ;) Only a couple more weeks until showers and then I can finally start putting everything away instead of in a huge pile in the guest room!

23 weeks

Happy 23 weeks to Baby Arch! The wee one is the size of a grapefruit this week, measuring anywhere between 10.5 to 11.8 inches from crown to rump and weighing in at 12.7 to 20.8 ounces. The face is fully formed now - just needs a little bit more fat to completely fill out. Lil Arch can also hear my voice, my heartbeat and any super loud noises.

23 weeks

Not much new right now. Any movements are still pretty muffled, but can feel them when I'm sitting still in a chair or lying in bed. Both baby showers are coming up later on this month, so I'm super excited about that.

Clay and I also have our all day birthing class on Saturday. He may be less than thrilled, but I'm actually a little excited to go. Hopefully there's some fun people in the class so it's not super boring.

Our follow up ultrasound is a week from today. Fingers crossed for the CPC to be gone, but no worries if it's not. There's a chance it will still be there until around 36 weeks.

Nursery carpet has finally been ordered and should be installed next week. Word to the wise, do not purchase flooring from Carpet Bonanza. Yes, by all means, use them as a resource to gather samples and view a large selection, but if you get a lower quote elsewhere, do not expect them to budge. They were over $200 more than Lowes for the exact same carpet and, without even knowing how far off they were, there were like "nope, absolutely not budging on our price." All righty then... kiss your commission goodbye.

Take care kids and stay tuned for the ultrasound results next week!