17 week update...

I'm officially 17 weeks today. My belly is definitely starting to pop. I'm getting asked "When are you due?" nearly everywhere I go now. My maternity tops are fitting much better too :)

I'm starting to feel those flutters they tell you about. It's like a little Mexican jumping bean just under the surface. It's happening every few days now and some days it happens a few times a day. I also notice that my uterus is rising higher and higher, extending my belly.

Last night I had my 17-week OB visit and I got to hear the heartbeat again. It was going strong and the dr found it right away this time. And while he had the transducer on my stomach, I felt some movement and there was this weird static sound. Dr told me it was my baby kicking back. awesome!

In general I'm feeling pretty good. I've got a good, no GREAT, appetite. I can seriously devour a jar of pickles in one day. haha. The headaches are few and far between. And I am slowly gaining more energy. I'm still pretty wiped out by the end of the day but I'm able to get some things done before cooking dinner, instead of crashing for a nap like I did through the first tri.

Now that I've finally decided to start having someone else take my pic, Jay's camera decided to croak. Lovely. So for now we're using my cell phone so sorry the pics aren't super clear. but it's still better than having me hold the camera in my own portraits ;-)

Comfiest shoes for preggos, ever...

I have fallen in love with my Jessica Simpson "Leve" ballet flats. They come in a myriad of colors and patterns, including cute gingham and metallic sheen options. What sets them apart from the traditional ballerina flat is that have a cute "en pointe" square toe box. It looks so much more polished than a traditional round toe flat. And it has a cute little bow and suede toe. As far as ballerina flats, none really give all that much support. But these little bad boys have a light rubber sole and are made so well! I have them in chocolate brown and black. They are perfect to wear with dress pants and skirts. And you can also dress them down with jeans. They are the perfect solution for a shoe that looks polished but doesn't carry around the issue of heels. Heels when you're preggo = back pain & clutzy-mcgoo. I have gotten lots of compliments on them since I starting wearing them daily. Just a quick tip: spritz your entire feet and toes with Dove aerosol deodorant so your feet don't get sweaty n smelly ;-)

They retail for about $50 at Macys but if you go in and try on for size, then you can google for an even better deal. You can also find them for considerably cheaper on ebay.

We decided on a crib!

We decided to go with the Tribeca Convertible Crib by Bedford Baby (division of Westwood). We are planning to order it in the Chocolate Mist hardwood finish. After looking at endless cribs, we both really like the sloping curve on the back rail and the sturdy non-dropside. Both mr. laz and myself are pretty tall so bending over isn't a problem for us.

By the way, how adorable is the bedding in the catalog picture!?! It's called Elephant Stitch by Carter and it's definitely one we're considering. And if we end up with a girl I saw the cutest matching stuffed pink elephant in the Hallmark store the other day!

We are ordering from JCPenny's catalog in a few weeks. For now we're just ordering the crib, conversion kit, and mattress. We aren't too impressed with the changer/combo dresser and chest of drawers. And we are seriously considering the Bonavita Peyton changer/combo in Espresso. We saw it at USA Baby and it's really made well with dovetail corners, edge gliders, and very roomy long drawers. And it comes with a removable galley to hold the changing table pad in place.

15 week update...

So I'm officially 15 weeks along today. It's amazing how fast the time has flown. I'm into my second trimester now and I can definitely say that the nausea has left for now. Aside from the occasional migraine and waves of exhaustion, I'm feeling so much better now. By the end of the day I'm craving a nap but I'm slowly gaining energy back.

The twins have grown exponentially and I've traded in my traditional bra for a matronly maternity one. My bump has also starting to bloom. I am wearing all maternity clothing now, although some of the pants are still a little loose on me. I got my first recognition from a complete stranger at ShopRite the other day. Her toddler was screaming her head off about wanting cookies and she turns to me and says "See what you have to look forward to. When are you due?" I was secretly pleased, however, that I was looking more obviously pregnant. And not just like someone who has had a few too many Krispy Kremes.. ;-)

I was looking at a pic I had taken around 11 1/2 weeks and compared it to one I had taken yesterday. It's amazing how much I've changed!

Don't breach the pillow walls!

Ok so sweet darling mr. laz got me this awesome pillow for my birthday last month. I first heard about it on thebump.com boards and it's the sweetest find ever. It's called the Leachco Back n Belly pillow. It's a U-shaped pillows with "lobster claws" that contour to fit against a growing baby bump and support your back. Instead of traditional maternity pillows or body pillows, you don't have to drag the pillow with you when you switch positions. Instead, you just roll over and grip the other leg of the pillow. It really helps to keep your hips aligned and free of pressure if you wrap your legs around it. But beware as it does take up quite some room in your bed. And your kitty might find it very comfortable. Several times my cat, Poe, has tried to climb onto the pillow and into the pod of warmth I've created in the cente. But I show him who's boss when he does that. And it's true, they land on their feet no matter how hard you throw them ;-)

Saw our bean again!

So we had a chance to see little Laz again at our 13 week ultrasound. It's part of the NT scan where they check for birth defects, along with a blood draw. We get the results back in 5 weeks or so. But the image tech said that she didn't see anything unusual on the ultrasound.

Our bean has grown quite a bit since we last saw him/her. Now resembling a small human we got to watch as it wriggled about, mooning us with it's scrawny bum. And you could see arms and legs moving about, even though they aren't showing up on the ultrasound. ha!

And that is half a foot we got there on the left, not anything else ;-)

The next ultrasound we have scheduled will be on July 20th and we'll finally find out which color to paint the nursery ;-)

Tushies, ta-ta's and fried pickles..

Thanks to a sweet gal, I had another first on Friday night. Fried pickles. What are they? They are pickles battered and fried golden. Where can you get them? Hooters. Yes, that's right. In order to enjoy this amazing fried culinary treat you have to endure bouncing tushies and ripe ta-ta's. I'm sure there are a few of you who don't mind making that sacrifice ;-) And I encourage you to breach that wall b/c you're missing out! Best served with spicy tumbleweed sauce. But I've also been told that if you ask nicely they will toss your fried pickles in parmesan wing sauce. Mmmm. Table for two?

Sweet, sweet music to our ears..

Tonight we had our 12 1/2 week checkup. And it was finally our turn to hear our baby's heartbeat. It was such an incredible sound and made us both feel that much closer to our little Laz. The heartbeat sounded good and strong, beating very fast. Almost sounded like an espresso machine churning. haha.

We did our best to record the heartbeat from the doppler machine but it didn't come out that well. But if you turn your volume up you can definitely hear little Laz pumping away :)

EDIT: The video is not uploading correctly, I'm working on trying to figure out why. It may not support the WAV file.. :(

TCBOTB rocks!

So I owe kudos to The Cutest Blog on the Block. I stumbled across them when i was searching for cute blog designs. They have lots of really inspiring backgrounds, banners, and blinkies. There is something for everyone's taste. And the best part is you can save the page elements to a photo editing program and add text and pictures to your hearts content. If you are thinking of creating a blog, or just want to revamp yours, definitely give thecutestblogontheblock.com a looky.

Choosing the right crib..

We are doing our research for a crib. It might seem a bit early but we've been advised by other recently new mommies, as well as the Baby Bargains book, to order by your 20th week of pregnancy. This is because so many of the cribs are backordered or need anywhere from 6-12 weeks for it to arrive. It's rare to find the exact crib in the finish you want in the store. And the majority of collections are offered online anyway..

We've got it down to three contenders. We know we want something with a deep dark chocolate/espresso finish. And we'd prefer hardwood over pine or that MFD stuff. And above all we want a crib that will be safe and comforting for our little bean. We've read countless reviews and polled the consumer reports websites and here our are top three choices: Tribeca by Bedford Baby from jcp.com, Babi Italia Pinehurst from bru.com, and Monterey by Bedford Baby, also jcp.com. All three are convertible style cribs.

So which is your fav and why? leave a comment! :)