Baby Brown Has Arrived

It's a boy!!!

"Your first breath took ours away". With joy we welcome Orion Alexander! Born May 5, 2012 at 7:53am. 7 lbs 15oz 20 inches. Mom and baby are doing well! More pictures and his birth story to come.

Maternity Clothes

Finding cute and stylish maternity clothes is quite the challenge. 12 years ago when I was pregnant with Brennan maternity clothes were even more frumpy. I was excited to be contacted by Seraphine, maker of stylish and fashionable maternity clothes. Their clothes are even a favorite among celebrities .

The hardest part about finding cute maternity clothes that fit well is the different stages of pregnancy. This being my 2nd pregnancy I began to show early, around 10 weeks along. I was pretty thin before getting pregnant and wore a size 4 or 6 depending upon the brand. According to all the maternity sizing charts this would make me a size small. I am also tall though so in pants and long sleeve shirts small typically doesn't fit me. I did buy some size small stuff at the beginning of my pregnancy because my pre-pregnancy clothes didn't fit and medium and large seemed huge at that point. Those things lasted until about 25 weeks when some of them began to feel very snug. I then invested a a few medium and large items which lasted me through the middle stage of my pregnancy. I am now 39 weeks pregnant and for the last few weeks not much fits or is comfortable anymore.

I decided to review the Blue Wash Straight Leg Maternity Jeans when I was first contacted by Seraphine, in my 22nd week of pregnancy. At the time it was cold outside and I have a few pairs of cute knee boots I was dying to wear but tucking my boot cut maternity jeans into them wasn't going to cut it. A cute pair of skinny jeans was just the right thing. Based upon their sizing charts of my pre-pregnancy size I would wear a Seraphine size 1 (US size 4) or Seraphine size 2 (US size 6). I went with the Seraphine size 2 because I had gained some weight and didn't want the pants to be too tight. Shipping was very quick but unfortunately the jeans were too tight to be comfortable. After talking with my contact at Seraphine and describing my fit problems they suggested going up two sizes to a Seraphine size 4. My contact indicated that the smaller sizes are cut slimmer through the butt and hips and that was where the jeans were too tight. I am glad I went with the size 4. They are comfortable even at this stage in pregnancy and don't look sloppy at all. Colorado has had an unseasonably warm spring so I haven't gotten to wear them with boots but I think they look cute with ballet flats too. Another thing I like about not having a full belly panel is that these jeans will work for the postpartum period when my pre-pregnancy clothes still don't fit but I don't want to be wearing frumpy, full belly panel, maternity jeans. 

Check out the pictures yourself, the jeans are super cute, even at 37.5 weeks pregnant!

Disclosure statement: I was provided a pair of jeans at no charge by Seraphine in order to facilitate this review. All statements and opinions are my own.

Baby's Nursery

Since we don't know Baby Brown's gender finding gender neutral nursery decor that Nate and I both liked proved to be difficult. At first there was nothing we liked and we considered holding off on decorating the nursery until after baby arrived. I am way too much of a planner for that idea to last long. Thankfully we both fell in love with the Bumble nursery set at Babies R Us and it was the inspiration for the baby's nursery.

We decided to skip the traditional bedding package with fitted sheets, crib bumpers, and a quilt. The set was expensive and I have mixed feelings about bumpers. I used crib bumpers with Brennan but as soon as they start to pull up you have to take them out of the crib. Also, in the last 12 years there have been concerns raised about the safety of crib bumpers in regard to SIDS. The quilt was beautiful but also due to SIDS concerns you are not supposed to have any soft bedding in bed with baby so it would only be for display not for real use. I did like the sheets included with the set better than the ones sold separately and the crib skirt was very cute but in the end we decided to just register for pieces of the set. We went with the fitted sheet, the mobile, the wall art, the wall decals, and the fuzzy blanket from the set. I had trouble finding a crib skirt sold separately that coordinated so I made my own, despite my limited sewing skills. We wanted to crib skirt to be green since the walls were yellow.

Everything turned out perfectly and I couldn't be happier with our adorable bee themed nursery!

 Baby's crib and the crib skirt I made

 Close up of the crib. The fuzzy yellow blanket will come with us to the hospital. The bear is a sound machine from my mom that is attached to the crib bar with velcro.

 Rocker with handmade ABC quilt from Brennan's grandma (on his dad's side)

 I love how the wall decorations turned out!

 And a quick peek at how Baby Brown is looking these days. 37.5 weeks, 4/16/2012.

C'mon baby, we're ready to meet you!

Bumble Bee Themed Baby Shower

Last month was my baby shower. It was such a great day and everything turned out completely perfect. I am so lucky to have such amazing friends and family. My sister, and two friends, Becca and Catherine hosted the shower for me. They knew Baby Brown's nursery was going to be bee themed and I shared a picture or two from Pinterest and they ran with it. The shower, food, and decorations turned out even more perfect than I could've imagined. It was so nice to visit with family and friends to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our new baby.

 Handmade bumble bee cupcakes

 Wishes for baby

 Honeycomb guessing game

Sweet treats and honey nut cheerio bars

 Me and all the lovely hostesses (my sister)

 Becca and I

Catherine and I

Baby shower guests

 More guests

Opening gifts

All the wonderful gifts Baby Brown received

Baby Pool for Baby Brown

We've created a free, online baby pool for Baby Brown. Enter your guess about when Baby Brown will arrive, time, weight, length, and gender. A small prize will be sent out to the winner. Happy guessing!

Maternity Photos

On March 10th, when I was 32 weeks pregnant I had maternity photos taken. The very talented Maren Miller of Maren Miller Photography took the photos for us. She took family photos for us this summer that turned out great (and are in my header) so I contacted her to do maternity photos and she'll be back to take newborn photos of the baby once they arrive.

Our gender predictions! Nate (girl), Me (boy), Phoenix (girl), Wynter (boy), and Brennan (boy)

Over It

I'm one day shy of 33 weeks today and starting Monday it happened, I'm over being pregnant. I don't want that to sound totally negative but all week I've been feeling hugely pregnant, exhausted, and uncomfortable. I think everyone hits this point at sometime in the 3rd trimester but I was a little surprised that it happened so soon for me.

When I was pregnant with Brennan I worked up until I went into labor and until 39 weeks I was on my feet for 9 hours per day. Honestly looking back I'm not quite sure how I made it. I didn't get terribly uncomfortable until 38 weeks. The last two weeks were quite miserable but I know it happens much earlier for most pregnant women so I tried not to complain too much. I was very thankful that I went into labor with Brennan on my due date and he was born the next morning. Due dates aren't expiration dates but after 9 months of anticipation and having your body completely taken over I think the mental aspect of going past your due date can get tough.

Babies are considered full-term from 37-42 weeks so I have between 4-9 weeks left. The planning part of me says if the baby comes in 4 weeks there is no way we'll be ready. We're still working on Brennan's room in the basement. It is coming along, the drywall and texture are done, electrical is all done and the lights are installed and working. Today I am going to buy paint and start priming, and carpet will be installed next Wednesday. If everything goes well the basement room could be done in a week and half. After the room is done we still have to move Brennan into that room, move Phoenix into Brennan's room, and then we can start on painting and putting together the baby's room. So far we have a cherry wood with ivory cushion rocker and no other furniture. The crib we had registered for is suddenly no longer available anywhere. This sent me into a bit of a panic Monday. After looking at all the cribs at Babies R Us I found one I loved in our price range. Babies R Us is in the middle of their 20% off crib sale and when I looked online yesterday it was no longer in stock. It also is a dark cherry finish which is closer to Espresso so I am not sure it will match the rocker. The baby's room is tiny so I am not sure even a small dresser will fit in there so I am unsure what to do about that. Good thing the baby will be in our room at first because they very well make their appearance before their room is completely put together.

So, been there, done that moms, how do I stay sane this next month or two? My iron levels were a bit low at my latest CBC so I'm working on increasing my iron levels which I know won't hurt my energy levels. I'm also going to go back to my early pregnancy (vitamin rich) diet. At my 28 week appointment the midwife mentioned I should slow down my weight gain so I stopped trying to squeeze in everything and did lose a pound the first week but I think it has affected how I feel. I don't want to gain a ton of weight but if it is healthy calories and it makes me feel better I'll take the extra weight. I've tried a lot of different things to get some better rest which I know would help me feel better and maintain a more positive outlook but sleep is still elusive for me. I use my Hypnobabies techniques which help but I still don't sleep well. This last week I've been so exhausted and not felt so uncomfortable by early afternoon that I take about an hour each afternoon to practice my Hypnobabies scripts and take some time in bed to rest and recharge which helps some. The time slot of prenatal water aerobics I was taking was canceled and the only other time is very inconvenient so I can only commit to going once per week. This is kind of a bummer. I wish I could go more because being in the water feels good and being active for an hour straight is always good. The weather has been nice so I need to make going on walks a priority. I get frustrated that after only a 2.5-3 mile walk I'm exhausted even on days when I'm otherwise feeling ok. I guess I need to remind myself that even a mile or two walk is better than nothing, especially if I do it every day or almost everyday. Not sure what else to try.

I can't wait to meet our precious baby. I know they are going to be just perfect and the last piece of the puzzle to complete our family. I am so thankful that God has blessed us with another child and I feel grateful to be able to carry this baby. Both my pregnancies have been fairly easy with no real morning sickness, which I know a lot of women struggle with. Besides the insomnia, 1st trimester high blood pressure, moderate protein levels at 26 weeks (which seemed to have resolved itself), and gaining more weight than I'd like, this pregnancy has been pretty easy as well. The baby has been growing well, always has a nice, strong heartbeat, and looked perfect at our 20 week ultrasound. I know I'm truly blessed and hopefully I can find some ways to make the next month or two more comfortable and try to enjoy my last time being pregnant. Either way I know it is worth it in the end.

Sleep, Oh Sweet Sleep

I'm writing this at 3:30am not because I was up late after a wild night of partying. I'm writing this at 3:30am because during this entire pregnancy sleep has been a bit elusive for me. I hate to complain because I've had a pretty great pregnancy and no morning sickness. I'll be honest though, the insomnia is rough.

The hardest part for me is I am truly a sleep lover! I am one of those people who functions best at 9-9.5 hours of sleep. If you aren't one of those people who needs a lot of sleep you probably think that is crazy but those who are sleep lovers know what I'm talking about. Of course I can function on 5-6 hours of sleep but it isn't pretty. I walk around in a bit of a haze most of the day, only to collapse at the end of the day craving the sleep I missed.

The pregnancy insomnia started around 8 weeks pregnant. With both my pregnancies first trimester brought the fun, "I have to pee all the freaking time" symptom. I assume this is hormonally related and it is different from the third trimester, "I feel like I have to pee all the freaking time but really it is just the baby's head smashing my bladder" symptom. Totally different but equally annoying. So early in my pregnancy I was waking to pee 3-4 times per night. A bit annoying but I lived with it. I am a bit of a water-o-holic which doesn't help but as long as I can fall asleep within 10-15 minutes at bedtime and can fall back asleep within 5 minutes of getting up to pee it really doesn't bother me. I can almost get a restful night sleep getting up 3-4 times if I can fall back asleep immediately. Of course the nights I only get up 1-2 times are much better.

The insomnia part that makes me even more crazy is the waking up and being unable to fall back asleep. I've seen 1am-3am more times this pregnancy than even when I was 21 years old. I wake up, go pee, lay back down, and lay there wide awake unable sleep, thinking, "again?!" "why me?". Eventually after 30 minutes or so of tossing and turning and listening to my stomach grumble I go try a snack. My midwives suggested something with protein so usually I just grab a cheese stick and head back to bed.

I first realized maybe hunger was waking me up around 12 weeks pregnant. After weeks of horrible insomnia I put two and and two together and tried to ward off the problem by having a healthy snack right before bed. It seemed to make sense since I have been super hungry this entire pregnancy. At first it did work some. Adding a snack before bed cut back the long, middle of the night awake periods to 2-3 times per week which seemed more manageable albeit annoying.

I tried asking women in my baby group from Baby Center that are due around the same time as me for suggestions. I even asked my midwife for suggestions. I did receive some good ones, though not all worked for me. Some were: cut back on evening water intake, stick with a relaxing bedtime routine/allow unwinding time, exercise but not in the evening, and try a over the counter remedy such as Unisom. While the midwife said Unisom was safe after the 1st trimester I still don't want to try it. Hubby thought it was a bad idea and having to take medicine to make me fall asleep seems like a bad idea.

Since starting my Hypnobabies child birth preparation in mid-January the self hypnosis and relaxation techniques have also helped me sleep better and have less nights with long awake periods. It just seem to alternate between a very restful night of sleep followed by an extremely crappy one. I was beginning to think going to bed earlier helped but last night I was in bed early and still have been awake for about 2 hours.

I am definitely taking this in strides. It is all worth it in the end and in about 2 months (hopefully a little less) I'll be meeting my precious new baby. I wonder if pregnancy insomnia is God's way of preparing the mom-to-be for all the middle of the night feedings and lack of sleep that the newborn phase entails?

30 Week Pregnancy Update

Can I say it's hard for me to believe that I'm already 30 weeks along and in a little over 2 months we'll be meeting our baby? It's crazy how quickly the time goes! I'm trying to enjoy every minute since I know this will be the last time I'm pregnant. Pregnancy is hard work though.

30 weeks along

Side view

Due date: May 4, 2012


How far along: 30 weeks


Maternity clothes: Ha! With a belly like that it has to be maternity. The shirt in the photo is a size small maternity top and it isn't going to fit another 3 months.


Baby bump: See for yourself in the pictures.

Gender: We aren't going to find out the gender. We are really excited to announce both the gender and the name once the baby is born.


Heartbeat: My 30 week appointment was on Friday and the baby's heartbeat was in the 140's.


Movement: I do have an anterior placenta which was confirmed at my ultrasound. I don't feel as much movement as people generally feel at this stage of pregnancy though the baby's movement is consistent and increasing. I still haven't felt the baby get hiccups yet but I know that is coming too.


Symptoms: Overall I still feel great and honestly feel really blessed to have avoided terrible morning sickness in both my pregnancies. My back hurts at the end of most days but it depends on my activity for the day. If I've been sitting a lot it tends to be worse. Sleep comes and goes for me. It is definitely better than it was from 8-18 weeks which I had horrible insomnia. About once a week I have a night where I am up for and hour or two but overall have been sleeping better. Last night I slept for 7 hours almost straight. For someone who needs 9-10 hours to function well that isn't a lot but compared to being up for 1-2 hours in the middle of the night I'll take it. We finished our 6 week Hypnobabies childbirth preparation course last week and the self hypnosis and relaxation techniques really help me sleep better.

Tests and midwife appointment updates: After the drama of my 26 week appointment, both my 28 and 30 week appointments were pretty low key. Last Friday was my 30 week appointment. I had lost a pound (yay, since I have gained more than I'd like already), baby was measuring 31 cm, and my blood pressure was still great (116/74). At both my 28 week and 30 week appointments I still did have trace amounts of white blood cells and protein in my urine but neither midwife seemed concerned since I passed the 24 hour urine screen with only moderate amounts and all my blood work came back normal. I'm glad to not have to worry about protein levels and increase in blood pressure for now. My next appointment is at 32 weeks with one of the midwives I haven't seen since 14 weeks so I am looking forward to chatting with her more.

Exercise: My 2nd session of prenatal water aerobics just ended and they canceled that time slot :-( I am now going to try dropping in to the other prenatal water aerobics class that isn't at a very convenient time and also dropping into a classic water aerobics class and just doing some modifications for pregnancy since I am familiar with the routines at this point. I'm still hoping for some nicer weather so the kids and I can get out and walk but lately there hasn't been much. The days in the 40's have had 40-50 MPH or greater winds so that doesn't make for great walking weather.

Next Appointment: Thursday, March 8th.

Here is the link to the Baby Center: Your Pregnancy: 30 Weeks Some of the highlights: your baby is about 15.7 inches long and almost 3 pounds. A pint and half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume decreases as she gets bigger, and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it is not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision - which means she'll only be able to make out objects a few inches from her face. 

27 Week Update

I can't believe I haven't updated since 20 weeks! Here are some of my pregnancy photos from this last week.

 The 26 week belly, 1-29-2012

26 week profile shot, 1-29-2012

Due date: May 4, 2012


How far along: 27 weeks


Maternity clothes: Ha! With a belly like that it has to be maternity. The shirt in the photo is a size small maternity top and it isn't going to fit another 3 months.


Baby bump: This last week I definitely "popped" again. Between 26-27 weeks I started to feel huge and there is no question I have a big baby bump. I can't even imagine how much bigger it will get in the next 3 months. Hubby and I were looking at Brennan's baby book and I'm about the same size as I was at 35 weeks with Brennan.

Gender: We aren't going to find out the gender. We are really excited to announce both the gender and the name once the baby is born.


Heartbeat: The baby is getting bigger and their heart rate has slowed a bit. At my 26 week appointment it was 145-150 depending upon if the baby was moving or not. This last time the baby didn't want to stay still and let the midwife get a good heart rate.


Movement: I do have an anterior placenta which was confirmed at my ultrasound. I don't feel as much movement as people generally feel at this stage of pregnancy. I do feel at least 10 spontaneous movements throughout the day but rarely feel more than 1 kick or punch in a row. Yesterday the baby was extremely active and moving all over the place so maybe the baby is finally getting big enough that I can feel the movements despite the placement of my placenta. This past week I've definitely gotten some rib jabs and punches to the cervix. I've haven't felt the baby get hiccups yet but I know that is coming too.


Symptoms: Overall I still feel great and honestly feel really blessed to have avoided terrible morning sickness in both my pregnancies. I have been sleeping better these past few weeks. We started our Hypnobabies childbirth preparation and I think that has really helped me to relax and sleep better since we do our practice before bed. I'll write a separate post about why we chose Hypnobabies and what our experience with it has been so far. My back is starting to hurt, especially at the end of the day or if I have to do any extended periods of sitting. 

Tests and midwife appointment updates: Baby was back to measuring right on track after measuring 2 weeks ahead at my 22 week appointment and 5 days ahead at my ultrasound. I guess the baby must have just been in the middle of a growth spurt around 22 weeks. At 26 weeks I had my gestational diabetes screen which I passed with flying colors. The solution wasn't as bad as I remembered it though I did request lemon lime and drank it ice cold. At my 26 week appointment there was a moderate amount of protein in my urine as well as trace amounts of white blood cells. Due to my first trimester high blood pressure this warranted further testing. My midwife explained that there was a note in my chart to due the testing at 28 weeks due to my first trimester high blood pressure and that due to the protein it was safer to do it now rather than wait two weeks. My blood pressure was still 116/74 so at least that was good. in order to officially have pre-eclampsia you have to have both high protein levels (mine were moderate) and high blood pressure (mine was still normal). I had to do a 24 hour urine screen and a metabolic panel, both pre-eclampsia tests, to make sure that wasn't beginning to develop. I was stressing out over the weekend about the tests and the possibility of developing pre-eclampsia this early in my pregnancy since the only cure is delivery of the baby. I ended up getting several bad headaches but was able to determine they were sinus (and probably stress too) related. I completed the test Sunday since I had to essentially be home for 24 hours straight which rarely happens. Monday afternoon I heard back from the midwife and got some decent news. First my blood test results were all great and someone developing or who has pre-eclampsia should have markers in their blood to indicate that as well. My protein results were only ok. A normal result would be 50-70, mine was 168, but the 24 hr protein level has to be 300 or greater to be considered pre-eclampsia. My midwife said I would have to repeat the 24 hour urine screen and blood work at 28 weeks but to not worry and carry on like normal until then. She said it is possible with my Crohn's and medication I take that my baseline protein number is just simply higher. I'm slightly unsure about that because according to the in office screen at 8, 10, and 14 weeks I didn't have an protein in my urine (I transferred care at 14 weeks and this midwife practice doesn't routinely screen your urine in office until 26 weeks). Reading online there is a small possibility that a UTI can cause protein or white blood cells to show up in your urine. It doesn't seem like the likely cause but I am going to ask at my next appointment whether my urine was tested for a UTI and if not request it is before we do another 24 hour urine screen. Send prayers and good thoughts my way that this is just normal for my body and not the beginning of pre-eclampsia. Also in monitoring my blood pressure at home this week it has been slightly higher but staying under 130/85. My midwife did not seem concerned about this at all since she said they said now that I'm in the 3rd trimester that they expect my blood pressure to return to 1st trimester levels which for me were high. Every pregnant woman has lower blood pressure during the 2nd trimester due to hormonal changes in pregnancy. 

Exercise: I'm doing much better with exercise! I love my prenatal water aerobics class. It is great to have 2 days per week with a full hour of physical activity. It is nice to get out of the house and spend time with other pregnant women. My first session ended and I just started a 2nd session this week. We've also had several days  of weather in the 40's and 50's and the kids and I have been going for walks of about 2 miles or so. Between the walking and water aerobics I am getting 4-5 days of exercise which makes me happy. The water aerobics class isn't very strenuous but it is still a full hour of physical activity so I'll take it.

Next Appointment: I'm in the third trimester now so I have appointments every 2 weeks. My next appointment is on Friday, February 10th. Last appointment was the first pregnancy related thing hubby couldn't make it to. Now that my appointments are more frequent I am going to schedule them for Friday mornings because it is hard for him to get out of work at 3:30pm and then we have the problem of who is going to watch the kids. He's met a few of the midwives and I'll make sure at the end of the pregnancy when I schedule appointments with midwives he hasn't met to make the appointments for when he can go.

Here is the link to the Baby Center Your Pregnancy: 27 weeks . Some of the highlights: your baby weighs about 2 pounds now (size of a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping at regular intervals and waking at regular intervals and opening and closing her eyes and perhaps even sucking her thumb. Your baby's brain is very active. While her lungs are capable of functioning outside the womb with a lot of medical help they are still immature. Hiccups are common for babies at this point in pregnancy. At this point in pregnancy back pain and leg cramps are common.

Introducing Baby Brown

The baby's first photos! We had our first and likely only ultrasound on Tuesday. It was the 20 week anatomy scan though we waited until I was 22 weeks 4 days so it would be in the 2012 plan year for our insurance deductible.

It was so amazing to see the baby. My favorite part was the tech got an up close shot of the baby's little lips and nose, and they looked just adorable. The tech said everything looked great and got all the measurements we needed. We left there with about 15 profile photos of the baby and a live action DVD of the whole thing. Technology has definitely improved over the past 12 years since I've been pregnant!

We also got a call from our midwife yesterday going over the ultrasound report and she said everything looked perfect. We have a healthy baby growing in there! I wasn't worried something was wrong but hearing those words, "your baby looks perfect" sure felt great.

At my 22 week appointment I was measuring 24 weeks or 2 weeks ahead according to fundal height. At the ultrasound the baby was 1 pound 4 oz and measuring 5 days ahead. Since we're past the first trimester and babies grow at all different rates according to their genetics they will not adjust my due date but I'll likely have a bigger than average baby. Brennan was 8 lbs 1oz and I was 8lbs 12oz and hubby is 6'0" tall and 180 pounds so I wasn't expecting a small baby to start with. We were just happy to hear everything looks great and get a sneak peek at the baby. The day was even more special because hubby and the kids all got to be there to see the baby too. I can't believe the baby will be here in a little under 4 months!

Mommy and baby photos

Side view

The frame for our dresser

Baby

Love this profile shot!