Oh J. Crew, won't you sponsor me in life?

They have the best jewelry and accessories, I swear.

* EDIT

I had to post this necklace that I just found in the Stylewatch issue of People...

I seriously need this after the little princess comes (with her birthday on it, of course). From Dalla Nonna Jewelry.

23 Weeks!

This pregnancy is really starting to move fast! Sorry for the terrible posture in the last pic, but both DH and I are exhausted and snapping a couple photos right before bedtime leads to not the best shots. I'm starting to feel... I guess full would be the best way to put it. My belly is starting to get in the way of things haha. 17 weeks to go, though she could come as early as 14 weeks from now (God forbid any sooner!). I still have so much to do...

You can vote on my name list...

If you just click below. :-)


Don't worry, it's totally anonymous, so you won't insult me. Just know that I may cry myself to sleep tonight.

22 Weeks!

Welcome to week 22! Please enjoy my last photograph as I try my best Zoolander face. If we must be honest here, I kind of hate how my belly is this strange square shape. In person it doesn't really look all that square, but it photographs just oddly. I hope it gets more round so I can have one of those cute basketball (or beachball really) bellies. :-(

How far along?: 22 Weeks
Total weight gain: Haven't weighed in but I'm pretty sure it's around 12-13 lbs.
How big is baby?: Papaya sized!
Maternity clothes?: Yes indeed.
Stretch marks?: Teensy ones :-/
Sleep?: Not the best anymore. I wrestle with the snoogle. Some nights it's a godsend, others it's a curse!
Best moment this week?: An adorable Indian couple stopping us in Target to congratulate us and ask about 24512 questions about my pregnancy. Odd, yet sweet at the same time.
Movement?: Tons.
Food cravings?: The sweet tooth has officially kicked in. Oopsie!
Gender? Girl
Labor signs?: No thank you.
Belly button in or out?: Shallow innie.
What I miss: Being able to enjoy sneezing without the fear of peeing a little.
What I'm looking forward to: I'm looking forward to making it to V-day (viability day) in two more weeks, though I pray she stays cooking in there about 16-18 more weeks (zomg that's starting to sound not too far away!)
Milestone: I don't know if I've achieved any this week. I think I see a linea nigra forming... does that count? I don't know if I should keep doing these surveys, my answers hardly change haha.

Oh! My nails are still growing so long! I really don't think I've ever had them this long naturally without one of them breaking... And today, naturally my left thumbnail breaks (don't know how, they're freaking strong too) so I think I'm going to cut them finally. Also notice how my fingers are starting to swell. Yummy.

Valentine's Day

We had the best Valentine's day yesterday. Adam woke up early and went to the market to buy some groceries (and a dozen roses for me :-)) and we made breakfast together.
After that we cuddled on the couch and watched some tv. Later on we went for a little picnic at the park by our house, where we dined on chicken nuggets (I had to try the new sweet chili sauce!) and listened to Benny bark at strangers and kites. The park was awesome because I found a perfect little dip in the ground and was able to lay on my stomach with my belly in it!

We went to a couple stores later on to look for some large pots for our front porch area and had dinner reservations that evening at the Stinking Rose (an all garlic restaurant - yum!).

We got to the restaurant at our reservation time, and there was a huge line of people just to get in. After all the waiting to get to the host, he informed us that there was another hour wait. I guess there's nothing you can do about the insanity that is V-day, so Adam nicely said "that's ok, it's not your fault, you didn't invent Valentine's day!" And the two poor exhausted hosts were so surprised that someone was actually nice to them. They said that they had been screamed at all night by people. Surprise surprise, 5 minutes later we were ordering our appetizers. It pays to be nice to people! :-) Though after dinner it took us like 45 minutes to get our car from the valet. Ugh. We stuffed our faces so much we decided to head straight home after all that.

The rest of our glorious evening was spent in bed, watching figure skating of course. I couldn't ask for a better day with my lovey.

Furniture has been ordered!

Hallelujah!! And my ridiculously generous and wonderful parents wanted to buy it for us as their baby gift to us. We decided (after visiting about 23 other stores) to go with the Bellini, because as Adam put it, "it just looks like OUR little girl's room to me." I had the hardest time deciding because I know what a large investment this is, and I knew once we ordered something, there was no turning back. I solidified my decision after a little bit of haggling (I'm shameless, I know) I was able to get the price down almost 13%. Lesson for everyone: It never hurts to just ask!

I feel so relieved to be able to cross this off the to do list and move on to the rest of the planning for baby! Ahhhh... now I need a nap.


P.S. I think I need this lamp:

Look at these knobs!

I was toying with the idea of switching out the knobs in whatever dresser we go with (if it's white) with some fancy ones. After browsing one of my favorite stores online, Anthropologie, I came up with a ton of adorable options!

21 Weeks

I've started watching my belly move! Last night I pulled up my shirt while she was kicking and I could swear I saw my belly jiggle along with her kicks in the area she was kicking in. This morning she's totally doing it again! How cool!!

Let's see, not much else has changed this week... we still haven't ordered furniture or come to a decision as far as bedding. I'm starting to lean more towards an antique white, but haven't ruled out espresso. I bet everyone's sick of reading about this so I'll stop.

Oh and say hello to my $7 maternity cords from Old Navy. And I think my shirt was like $4.50. Woot!

Snoogle

So for the last week I have been sleeping horribly. Tossing and turning throughout the night, and I keep waking up on my back, which is apparently wrong to sleep on when you're with child. After my friend Kimi said the snoogle was indeed amazing, I caved and bought one. I had balked at the price tag at first, but this was necessity! The first two nights I was at war with the thing (I may have had it upside down?), but last night, it was a godsend. I don't think I moved but twice during the night. Amen.

Today I had my monthly checkup with my OB and everything's still peachy! Her heartbeat was so loud and strong! Dr. said she's a very active little girl :-)

Oh and here are two more crib sets we're now considering. Way to throw a wrench in the system, eh?

The first one is by Westwood Baby, and the next stuff is Bellini. They're a bit too rich for my blood, but I keep thinking about them... Their antique white was so pretty!

My Damn Boobs.

Are downright pornographic. The time came for me to cave and find a maternity bra. I had sized up to a couple VS bras earlier in my pregnancy, and those were straining to hold the girls in. I had no choice.

Enter the maternity store. Lexi picks up a few bras to try on. She had her eye on the Spanx brallelujah bra, and slips it on. Nope, too snug in the ol' cups. She asks her loving husband to grab her a 36 E. Yes, E. E!!! WTF. Lexi overhears her poor adoring husband asking the saleslady for help finding aforementioned size, and then hears the dreaded statement "there is no bigger than a D in those." She brings me some other wretched contraptions and I try them all on. Sizing up in the band size leaves them swimming on me (even the 36 has to go on the tighter setting). And somehow no matter how big the cup size, nothing worked on me. Nothing. Freaking. Fits.

And then, the loveliest of lovely comments from the husky saleslady herself:

"Well darlin', perhaps you should try Lane Bryant, they have a good variety."

I sat in the dressing room and bawled. Not to say anything against the wonderful plus-sized ladies out there, but I just have never been in that category. I was really rather thin until chemo happened. And even at my post-chemo weight, though I wasn't terribly happy with my physique, I wouldn't have considered myself large! Until I got all fat, I was always skinny. I just wanted a nice comfy maternity bra from this stupid maternity store with a vegetable in the title. Was this too much to ask for?!

This is where I have to give credit to my amazing hubby, who reassured me that I was/am/always will be gorgeous (at least to him I say!) and it's just my pregnant body that's giving me a hard time but that's a beautiful thing. And did I mention that he went bra shopping with me?! What a trooper!

We ended up at Target later in the day and I tried a bra there in a DD and it seemed to fit decently enough, so for $10.99, I bought it. After wearing it today, it is definitely not the comfy fit I would have liked. Or have I seriously grown overnight?

*sigh*

Let's just try not to think about what's going to happen to these old knockers once pregnancy and breastfeeding's all over with.

It's a cribtastrophe.

Well, not exactly for the average person, but for me, choosing anything of major importance for our little girl has proven to be of a difficulty of epic proportions. By major importance I mean, naturally, a name, a thermometer, and of course furniture for her nursery. At first we were all set on this Munire crib, because of one silly little thing:
I loved the feet on it.

Up close they look like adorable little balls of... oh I don't know, elephant feet? I liked the curves, the price was good for the quality, and above all, I wanted to only consider crib options that were rated an A by the bible Baby Bargains. As divine luck would have it, the dresser that is part of the set measures 60" precisely. And we happen to have the perfect little spot for the dresser in the nursery: a lovely niche that measures 59.9999999" precisely. And we were advised by salespeople that apparently furniture nor walls budge very easily/at all to accommodate this ludicrous discrepancy. So of course it's back to the drawing board. There were a couple others that were rated A's...

Romina, which I loved the idea of because they are made in Romania, my land of origin. 

Naturally these are incredibly pricey in comparison, and I can't find a nearby dealer to take a look. I'm the gambling type, sure, but not for something as serious as this. And I just can't fathom spending over $1000 on a crib, as much as I hope she keeps it until she goes to college (keep in mind that I'm not planning on cruelly making a teenager sleep in a crib, these convert to full-sized beds). Let's keep browsing...

Ragazzi is also rated an A. Let's take a peek-sie:

I mean, I very much like the dresser (measuring a perfect 56") but the crib just seems very masculine to me. I could live with it, but today we went to a local baby emporium of sorts and asked to take a look at their Ragazzi. The salesman shook his head and whispered that they were phasing them out because they were taking too long to deliver. So bubkus it is. I was prepared for such a tragedy so I asked to be taken to the other A option on my short list, Creations. I had two different sets in mind...

Summer's Evening, which was hubby's personal favorite (besides the Munire which he was head over heels for), because it was white, and he thinks we should go with white (I wanted espresso, since I think it looks a bit more elegant). In person it looked chewed up and cheap. And it wasn't exactly inexpensive either, but for the quality, forget it. The other option was this:

Which naturally wasn't available to view/look under the hood of/try to scratch with a fingernail when no one's looking. 

At this point I'm just tired and cranky and wishing someone could just make the decision for me. There are a few things I knew I wanted in our little girls room. One was a chandelier. 

After much deliberation, I knew I wanted something delicate and feminine for her bedding, along these lines (but just not quite this):

and I wanted flippin blue walls. Girly blue. I just don't want a "theme" nursery, I don't want it to look too baby-ish (I know she's a baby, get over it), too pepto-bismol-y pink, and above all I don't want it to look stupid.

And then again, I really love this bedding too:

But I mean I couldn't incorporate any pink into the room, could I? As much as I'm trying to avoid too much pink, the thought of banishing it completely frightens me.

Why is this what I worry about when people in this world are hungry and cold and dying?

Whoooooa I'm halfway there! ::sung Bon Jovi-like::

How far along?: 20 Weeks!!!
Total weight gain: 10 pounds
How big is baby?: Cantaloupe! That seems so huge to me!
Maternity clothes?: Oh yes, and I need yet another new bra. I'm going to swallow my pride and buy a big ol maternity bra.
Stretch marks?: I was about to say no, but then I checked and it seems I have the beginnings of a couple of those assholes starting on the ol lovehandles. Oh well ;-)
Sleep?: I keep waking up on my back, which is so odd, since I never slept on my back before. I try to position myself on my left side.
Best moment this week?: Being congratulated by strangers, and showing my parents the dvd of the ultrasound from last week. Oh and registering! :-P
Movement?: Every day.
Food cravings?: Cheese, cheese and more cheese.
Gender? Girl
Labor signs?: No no no!
Belly button in or out?: Even shallower innie.
What I miss: Laying on my stomach comfortably.
What I'm looking forward to: I'd really like a massage, so I'll look forward to that!
Milestone: Umm the halfway mark! And I got my first comment from a stranger... last Thursday a saleslady at Nordstrom asked how far along I was, and I was totally tempted to say insultedly "what?! I am NOT pregnant!" but decided against it. :-P And then yesterday the hostess at the Mexican restaurant by work where I ordered my flan to go (don't judge) asked the same thing! I guess the belly is quite noticeable now... (and she totally hooked me up with a bunch of chips and salsa to take back to work!)

So I'm feeling pretty great, minus a little occasional heartburn which isn't too terrible. I am definitely feeling that boost of 2nd trimester energy that I was promised by everyone, though some days I still come home from work exhausted. She gets really active at night, and now when I'm eating! It's so cute, I imagine she's telling me "more mommy, this is delicious!" LOL that or "ick, mommy, I hate carrots!"

We registered over the weekend which was fantastic. We had been looking forward to our little date for a while, and spent a couple hours strolling through Babies R Us with that magical scanner gun. Afterwards we went to the Grove and checked out Pottery Barn Kids, but that place was a total zoo, so we opted to eat instead :-) We ate at this little French Bistro where I had some righteous French onion soup (my fave) and cheese and crostini, and fondue. Ahhh heavenly... I could seriously survive on cheese and bread alone. We were on the patio, and a man at the table next to us decided to light up a cigarette. DH saw this and immediately freaked and said, "UM excuse me, but just so you know, that's illegal. And my wife's pregnant..." The guy said the waiter had brought him an ashtray, so he assumed it was O.K. and hubbs immediately felt like an asshole. But the guy felt bad and put out his cancer stick cigarette right away. They were done eating anyhow and left right after, but I was surprised that you can still smoke in Los Angeles in restaurants! I thought they outlawed all that... Anyway it was cute how protective DH was over me and our little one. AND I found it totally hysterical that the man was French... at a French bistro! How novel.

I've noticed that I've been craving a lot more sweets this past week (I'm usually not much of a sweets person). I needed flan of all things for a few days and finally caved yesterday and ordered some from the restaurant by work. And now I can't get fried ice cream out of my head. I'm going to have to find a way to finagle hubby into taking me for some. Not that he needs much coercing, he's been eating all the goodies up right along with me! I'd better watch it though, because I feel like I'm really starting to get those pregnant arms, which was one of my nightmares. If I'm going to be all big in the late spring/early summer, I'm going to need to be able to rock those summer dresses, and it ain't gonna be pretty if I've got tree trunks for limbs.

Oh and here's a bonus pic... Right after I just said "EW Adam did you just fart?!?!"