We have a few eventful weeks ahead of us!

We have some exciting news to share this week!  I (Brittany) was offered the position of Disability Specialist at UNI on Monday.  I gave my verbal acceptance the same day and submitted all of my paperwork to UNI's HR office Tuesday.  Everything is all set to go--just awaiting the results of my background check, but I am not anticipating any problems there. :-)  So, we will be making a move to the Cedar Valley hopefully within the next couple of months.  I am really excited about being only 45-50 minutes from my parents again!!!  You wouldn't think 2 hours would be that far away, but it's amazing how much more I saw them when we lived in Cedar Falls vs. Maynard.  With baby on the way, it will be nice being closer to family and friends again.  It will be hard to say goodbye to our staff at UIU, as they are all amazing,  but I know this is the right move for our growing family.  So...in the spirit of this exciting new adventure...we have pictures of the UNI onesie Baby Warren will sport soon after his/her birth!!  We've only had this onesie for over a year now.  Hey, it was on sale and I hoped we would have children of our own someday who could wear it.  :-) 

As far as the pregnancy goes, things are still going well.  I think I am progressing ok.  My belly seems to stick out more and more each day, which is AWESOME!  I ask TJ multiple times a day if he thinks it has grown from the day before.  :-)  One new development over the past week or so--my new craving.  I want to eat pickles on a daily basis!!!  I love the Claussen kosher dills, they are amazing!!  I am limiting myself to two slices a day, which is one serving, because I know they are high in sodium, but man oh man do I love them right now!!  I even ate two immediately following my PB&J toast for breakfast on Saturday. 

Another exciting development with the pregnancy--movement.  At first I wasn't sure, but I am thinking that I have been feeling the baby move since last Saturday.  I started to feel something an inch or two below my belly button on Saturday morning.  I tried to give myself a "butterfly kiss" on the hand to compare feelings because everyone says it feels like a flutter.  I don't think it feels like that necessarily, but it does feel like a quick, faint poke.  But, it's so quick I don't even have time to touch my belly to pinpoint the exact spot.  I have felt this a couple times each day since Saturday.  Since the "poke" is lower, this leads me to believe it is baby saying hello. 

We are only approximately two weeks away from finding out if we will be buying tutus or capes.  Can't wait!!! We will post a picture at the start of the week (week of May 7th) so you can see one more picture before you want to vote.

17 weeks, 2 days

 

Cast Your Vote

My super awesome friend Lexsea called this morning with instructions on how to add a poll to our blog.  So, if you look to the right, you'll see a place for you to cast your ballot.  The week of our next appointment we'll be sure to post an updated belly picture in case that will help you determine if you are going to vote "boy" or "girl."  If you are confident now, go ahead and vote, but I will caution you that you only get to vote once.  :-)  Will be anxious to see what everyone predicts.  The voting is scheduled to close Friday, May 11 at 6pm because by then we will know the answer!!

16 (15.5) week appointment update

Well, we had our 16 week appointment yesterday (Friday the 13th)--actually 15 and 1/2 weeks.  Overall, the appointment went well.  It actually was the shortest appointment yet.  Baby's heartbeat was 155.  TJ wasn't able to attend this appointment, so my mom kindly agreed to join me so I wouldn't have to go alone.  I think she was pretty excited to get to hear the heartbeat, too.  Although I personally am disappointed in my weight gain (lack of) and that my belly isn't growing that much bigger yet, my doctor said she wasn't worried at all.  My friends who have either had babies or are currently pregnant tell me that it's normal to think your belly isn't growing and then one day it just pops out. 

Besides going to the appointment on Friday, my mom and I stopped by a garage sale.  Now, I really haven't been big into garage sales.  But, this one changed my outlook on them and I hope to attend many more throughout the rest of the spring and summer.  I found quite the deals!!!  I came home with a book of 40,001 baby names, a baby carrier, 2 hats, 4 outfits/body suits, and 16 onesies in various sizes and spent only $16!!! 

That's the update on baby.  The next appointment will probably be the most exciting and anticipated visit--the 20 week ultrasound.  It is scheduled for Friday, May 11, which means we will know just in time for Mother's Day, which I think is pretty special. We can't wait to find out if we will dress the baby in a Wonder Woman onesie or a Superman one. :-)    We will have to do some sort of voting right before the next appointment.  My friend Lexsea had a voting thing on her website during her pregnancy.  Maybe she can help me figure out how to put it on ours.  Hint Hint! :-) 

 

15 weeks, 5 days 

 

 My garage sale finds.  Yes, there is a pink onesie in there.  That doesn't mean anything.  It came in a package with other onesies and mom and I didn't see it at first.  Can't go wrong when I got 6 onesies packaged together--brand new I might add--for $.50!!  If we don't use the pink one this time around, we'll save it for future use.

1 Down...2 to Go!

Woo-hoo!!!  We are officially over the first trimester and into trimester #2.  I have to say, it was starting to feel like we would never get here!  Things still seem to be going ok.  Nausea has backed off, which makes me wonder if it was that 5-day prescription I had to take.  Still having dry heaves--the nose is way too sensitive with smells, food in particular.  Our next appointment is Friday, April 13.  Yes, Friday the 13th... :-)  Below are a few pictures from today. 

 14 weeks, 1 day

Pulled the shirt a little tighter so you can see

We really don't have any other news or updates at this point in time.  We are excited for Easter weekend.  We haven't seen TJ's parents or his sister and her family for quite a while, so we are looking forward to a fun weekend in Pella.  We wish everyone a Happy Easter! 

Look for another update next week, although it might not be until the 13th!