Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for....

-For my new partner in Zumba crime Ms. Patricia!! I cannot believe how quickly Northern Ohio Zumba has grown in the last 6 months!
-My adorable husband. I am so thankful for these last few months of quality time together and I am going to miss him when he goes back to work tomorrow.

What are you thankful for?!

Maternity Update: Week 16

How far along: 16 weeks

Total weight gain: -38

Maternity clothes: Shirts, not pants they are way too big!

Sleep: Napping all the time

Best moment of the week: Getting the Quad Screen Results back and hearing everything was normal!!!!!!!!!

Movement: Mainly at night, sometimes during zumba

Gender: Unknown

Labor signs: None

Belly button in or out: In

What I miss: Sleep

What I'm looking forward to: Regaining my appetite

Weekly wisdom: Don't google anything it will only get you more concerned

Milestones: Second trimester, starting to feel the baby move

What's happening with the baby: Tiny bones in the baby's ears are finally in place this week making it more likely that the baby can hear outside noises!!!

What's happening with you: Second trimester is typically an easier time — the first trimester worries are waning and morning sickness is finally letting up. My uterus is expanding and I have even start showing! One side effect of your uterine expansion could be achy or sharp pregnancy cramps on one or both sides of your abdomen — known as "round ligament pain".

Business of Being Born

Though many do not understand our choice to use a midwife vs a traditional OBGYN I couldn't be happier with our decision. We recently watched a documentary call the Business of Being Born. Most of the film was not much of a surprise for anyone who has seriously researched the differences in hospital births vs home birthing. And as much as I would love to have a home birth, between insurance and my husband it just wasn't an option. Here is the trailer for the documentary and the full video is available on youtube as well as instant download on netflix.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for...

-A healthy pregnancy
-Getting to hear the heartbeat again
-My amazing husband who has been my pillar of strength these last few years
-My Job. I love that I get paid to workout and dance with so many amazing students
-Cuddle time with my puppies. Who could resist these faces?



What are you thankful for?

She will be missed

This week the world has lost one of its brightest stars, Ms Elizabeth Taylor. Like so many women I grew up admiring her spirit, her natural ability to stick to her guns, and of course her courage to accept herself the way she is. Ms Taylor was more than just a role model, she was an activist who inspired awareness. Here are a few clips of my favorite performances she contributed to and I am definitely planning a movie marathon this weekend to honor her amazing life.

Baby Quilt UPDATE

Well I finally picked up the last of the fabric for the quilt and I got so excited I started working on it! So far I have all the pieces cut out and I have even started ironing and pinning it all together. I got two full rows done so far before my back started to hurt take a look:

Maternity Update: Week 15

How far along: 15 weeks

Total weight gain: -38 pounds, lost another pound since our last appointment but I was slowly gaining last week

Maternity clothes: Going to have to pick up maternity tee shirts because none of my shirts cover my tummy when I teach

Sleep: Napping daily now

Best moment of the week: Hearing the baby's heartbeat --- 154!!!

Movement: Mainly at night

Gender: Unknown

Labor signs: None

Belly button in or out: In

What I miss: Eating

What I'm looking forward to: Regaining my appetite

Weekly wisdom: Hearing the heart beat is the most amazing sound

Milestones: Second trimester, starting to feel the baby move

What's happening with the baby: This week eyebrows and hair patterns are forming as well as Lanugo (a fine hair that forms in various different areas across the skin). Baby's tiny heart is already able to pump 25 quarts of blood per day and this will increase more than ten times by the time of birth.

What's happening with you: Second trimester is typically an easier time — the first trimester worries are waning and morning sickness is finally letting up. My uterus is expanding and I have even start showing! One side effect of your uterine expansion could be achy or sharp pregnancy cramps on one or both sides of your abdomen — known as "round ligament pain".

Wedding Pictures

We had a very small ceremony on February 4th that officially made Nick and I, Husband and Wife. Here are a few pictures from that special day:





Here are the outtakes:



Pastor Scott signing the Marriage Certificate



Nick making a comment about how as his wife I must serve his every need, obviously I was not impressed.

I will try and get more up later tonight, off to make dinner.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for:

- MY HUSBAND! I have enjoyed our time together these past few months I am going to be sad to see him go back to work in a few weeks.
-GREAT FRIENDS! I love girl days and amazing girl talk
-My Zumba Classes! I have some of the best students and they really make my job so enjoyable.

What are you thankful for?

Update on Baby Quilt

So I have not gotten as far as I had originally hoped with this quilt, my morning sickness is definitely getting the best of me. But I did just receive a 50% off coupon for JoAnn's Fabric so I am going to pick up the backing of the quilt. I also finally sat down and tried to find a pattern which suited us and our nursery theme. Cheryl even went to the library and picked me up some quilting books to look through. I found this adorable modern take on a traditional quilt and I couldn't be more excited to get started.



I am thinking about picking up that minky fabric for the backing, its so soft and snuggling I really think the baby would like it and could even use it as he/she grows up. What worries me about this particular pattern is the binding is hand made. I had originally planned on using a satin binding but I loved how clean and unique this binding turned out so I am going to give it a try. Worse comes to worse I can always take it off and use the satin binding. I really need to find one more statement sock monkey fabric, I wish they weren't so hard to come by.

Decisions, decisions!!

So I'm looking into different types of wall decorations for the nursery. I could go with the traditional wall letters and paint them with different prints and colors or I found an artist that actually uses sock monkys as the letters in the name. Which one should I go with?

Traditional:



Non-Traditional/Sock Monkey Themed:

Baby Names

Its official Nick and I have narrowed down our list to our favorite contenders so without any further delay:

Harrison Michael Dendinger

Charlotte AnnMarie Dendinger

We will not be finding out the gender until we get to meet him or her. I hope everyone can respect this decision and understand that as this is our first child we want to enjoy every aspect including the day we finally say hello to our little monkey.

Maternity Update: Week 14

How far along: 14 weeks

Total weight gain: -31 pounds

Maternity clothes: Most of my tops are too short so I have been wearing more maternity tops, still wearing pre-pregnancy jeans with a belly band.

Sleep: More like naps ... sleep for a few hours, up for a few more, then napping again.

Best moment of the week: Spending time with the husband

Movement: On and off throughout the day

Gender: Unknown

Labor signs: None

Belly button in or out: In

What I miss: Keeping food down on a regular basis

What I'm looking forward to: End of morning sickness

Weekly wisdom: Enjoy the little moments together because in a few months they will be rare and far in between

Milestones: Second trimester, starting to feel the baby move

What's happening with the baby: You're a third of the way through and baby's a third of the way cooked. Now that the "big stuff" (like skeletal and organ development) is taken care of, baby starts a period of rapid brain growth, fat buildup and detail work.

What's happening with you: Second trimester is typically an easier time — the first trimester worries are waning and morning sickness is finally letting up. My uterus is expanding and I have even start showing! One side effect of your uterine expansion could be achy or sharp pregnancy cramps on one or both sides of your abdomen — known as "round ligament pain".

Nursery

Here are some pictures of the nursery so far:





I am so thrilled with how it is turning out. I cannot wait to enjoy this room with our little monkey!!!

First Year Package Booked

This morning I met with Sonya an incredible photographer from Fremont, Oh and booked her "First Year" package. In this package we get a Maternity session, Newborn session, as well as sessions at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and one year old! She has even offered to come and take pictures and video during the birth. I am so tickled that such talented photographer will be helping us document the first year of our child's life. Here's a sample of her newborn work:

This just in ...

The mailman is officially my best friend! He brought me the fabric for the baby's quilt today, take a look...



I am still looking for one more sock monkey centric print for the quilt but I really couldn't be more thrilled how this quilt is turning out.



I cannot wait to get started on it!!!!

Maternity Update: Week 13

How far along: 13 weeks

Total weight gain: -32 pounds ... I GAINED TWO POUNDS lol

Maternity clothes: A few tops mainly because I do not want to stretch out my good clothes

Sleep: Yes please! Been getting up more and more during the night and even though I'm on spring break I haven't had time to nap

Best moment of the week: Feeling the baby move! I was laying down last week to go to bed and I felt this strange flutter in my stomach and I knew it was the baby.

Movement: A little bust mostly at night when I am trying to fall asleep

Gender: Unknown

Labor signs: None

Belly button in or out: In

What I miss: Sleep

What I'm looking forward to: End of morning sickness

Weekly wisdom: Keep moving during your pregnancy. If I wasn't still teaching I do not know if would be feeling as good as I am now and it honestly gives me something to look forward to during the week.

Milestones: Second trimester, starting to feel the baby move

What's happening with the baby: The most dramatic development this week ... vocal cords! If you could peek inside you'd see a baby the size of your clenched fist (and come to think of it, at 14 weeks of fetal development, this little one can clench his or her own fist!). As fetal development continues, your baby also has the coordination, strength, and smarts to wiggle his or her fingers and toes and even suck a thumb (how cute is that?).

What's happening with you: Second trimester is typically an easier time — the first trimester worries are waning and morning sickness is finally letting up. My uterus is expanding and I have even start showing! One side effect of your uterine expansion could be achy or sharp pregnancy cramps on one or both sides of your abdomen — known as "round ligament pain".

How are you feeling: Pretty good ... just wish Nick and I could decide on baby names.

Maternity Update: Week 12

How far along: 12 weeks

Total weight gain: -37 pounds, I need to start gaining some weight....

Maternity clothes: None of my clothes fit because I've lost so much weight

Sleep: Whenever I can!

Best moment of the week: Hearing the Baby's heartbeat again

Movement: none

Gender: Unknown

Labor signs: None

Belly button in or out: In

What I miss: Regular restroom visits

What I'm looking forward to: End of morning sickness

Weekly wisdom: Fiber is your best friend

Milestones: Tomorrow starts the next trimester!!!

What's happening with the baby: The most dramatic development this week ... reflexes. Baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, toes will curl, eye muscles will clench, and the mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if I were to poke my abdomen, the baby will squirm in response, although I won't be able to feel it.

The intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into the abdominal cavity about now, and the kidneys will begin excreting urine into the bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in the baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. Baby's face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

What's happening with you: Still loosing weight and have been experiencing more cramping from the cysts.

How are you feeling: ELATED! It is so reassuring to hear your child's heartbeat and now that I am entering the second trimester the chance of miscarried has diminished. I cannot wait to meet our little monkey in 6 months!!!!

Ultrasound Pictures Weeks 6-12

6 weeks

10 weeks

10 weeks

12 weeks 5 days

Tuesdays Appointment

Well after a very long weekend of severe cramping, the Dr. was able to get me in on Tuesday. They ran a whole bunch of different tests on me and them started checking the baby. The midwife tried for 30 minutes to find a heartbeat but because my uterus is tilted she was unable to find one. That was the scariest 30 minutes of my life! Eventually they were able to get me in for another ultrasound where we got to see and hear the baby again. The little one is actually starting to look like a baby! We got to see its nose and its little fingers and toes. Here's a picture of its giagantic legs. At this point its body and its head should be equal in size but our little ones legs are longer that its whole body!



Baby is measuring ahead again, and had a strong heartbeat of 167. They did find ovarian cysts which would account for the cramping I have been having. They said it is very common during pregnancy and they should resolve on their own. If they so not shrink or they start to get bigger I will have to have surgery. But overall it was a very good appointment and I was so happy that Nick got to be there to hear the heartbeat again.