Hi Everyone!

Well, we had a great doctors appointment on Friday! Everything is still looking good, right on target. The heartbeat was once again strong, and the belly is measuring right on track. Surprisingly, so is my weight ha! Since I was able to stick to the "one pound per week" suggested weight gain, I decided to celebrate with a Dairy Queen Blizzard on the way home. :) So there goes my one pound for this week ha!

I am heading back to the doctors in two weeks for both my glucose test and my Rh immune globulin shot. The glucose tolerance test is used to screen for gestational diabetes. The test is generally given between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy. The test involves drinking a sweetened liquid (which I am told tastes like flat orange soda) within 5 minutes, which contains about 50 grams of glucose. The body absorbs the glucose rapidly, causing blood glucose levels to rise within 30 to 60 minutes. Then, a blood sample will be taken at pretty much exactly 60 minutes after drinking the solution (they asked me to record exactly what time I take my last sip, so they can time it to almost exactly one hour). The blood test measures how the glucose solution was metabolized (processed by my body). So needless to say, I think I will be skipping the Dairy Queen Blizzard after my next appointment since I will already be all hyped-up on my flat orange soda drink. :)

I think I posted about the RH shot before so I won't go too much into detail here, but basically it's because I am RH Negative. The Rh immune globulin shot consists of a small dose of antibodies, which kill any RH-positive blood cells in your system and then prompt your immune system to develop its own antibodies. The donated antibodies are just like yours but the dose isn't large enough to cause problems for the baby. Nothing like a quick shot in the tush to start off the weekend! Ha!

So that's pretty much the latest! Time has really been flying by lately. I can not believe I will be in my third trimester already this week. We are really looking forward to our hospital tour though on Wednesday! I also just started my list of things to do before the little peanut arrives, so I at least feel better having a list to be able to look at and check things off. Now we just need to get cracking to check some things off!

We hope everyone had a great weekend! More to come later!

Just so Shamus doesn't feel left out (because of the kitty pictures)...here is an updated picture of "The Mus"!

Arby & The Peanut

Ha...I thought this was too funny to not post. Arby has taken quite the liking to the little peanut. Pretty much every time I sit down, I have about 5 minutes to get comfortable before Arby is up, in my lap with his head laying on the belly. It's pretty funny to watch his head bump up and down as the little peanut kicks. :) Disregard the non-matching PJs...

It's hard to tell...but that's the belly that he is sleeping on in the picture below. :)

Weekly Update - 25 Weeks! Holy Moly!

We are cruising right along!! I can not believe that next week I will be in my third trimester! Crazy! Things have been going pretty well lately, feeling pretty good (just a lot larger) and I find myself really starting to feel the effects of the belly. I am starting to notice that I am getting a bit out of balance (not much) and that I can feel the weight of the tummy when walking up the stairs, etc. Now that the weather is nicer, I am hoping to get out to do some more walking and hopefully that will help me get used to the belly. I am looking forward to my next doctors appointment which is on Friday this week. It is just always reassuring to be able to hear her little heart beating. Below is a picture of the belly at 25 Weeks exactly!

We also finally get to have another fruit/vegetable this week! So for weeks 25 - 28, little peanut is an Eggplant (despite the fact that mommy is still craving brussel-spouts on a daily basis)!

How Is Baby Growing?

Head to heels, the little peanut measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight, about a pound and a half, isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair! If you could see it, we would now be able to discern its color and texture!

Weekend Progress!

Wes and I actually made some progress this weekend on the nursery! Not a lot of progress, but progress none-the-less! On Saturday, we took a trip all the way down to Gaithersburg, MD to check out some nursery furniture that we found online. It was a long drive for a shopping trip (about an hour each way) but it turns out it was worth it! We placed and order for the Munire Urban Crib and Double Dresser! Too bad it takes 10-14 weeks to be delivered!!! The sales woman did say that the Munire Brand has been coming in earlier then that, so fingers crossed, we get it before I am 38 weeks! We just couldn't resist after seeing it in person, it's Mahogany for crying out loud!! Here are a few pictures of the set!

Another picture of the same set. Our dresser is similar but we got the double, which has six drawers as opposed to three and a cabinet. Ours will also have the stainless steel knobs, as in the picture shown above. This way the little peanut can grow into her dresser since we got a convertible crib (we are planning on several years of usage). We will also be using the dresser as the changing table, as shown below.

This is the picture of the full-size bed that the crib converts into...one of the reasons that this set was our favorite.

Eventually, we would like to get the nightstand as well, but that will probably be a little while. We also spent some time on Sunday cleaning out some of our pictures that were laying in the Nursery. We still have a long way to go, but at least we are finally getting started!

Weekly Update - 24 Weeks - Happy V-Day!!

We have officially reached 6 months!! The little peanut is 24 Weeks old today and growing by the day!! We are still in the "Papaya" stage until next week haha. Today is also our V-Day! You may be thinking that Valentine's Day was over a month ago (which it certainly was) but today is our Viability Day!! Starting this week, the little peanut is officially considered viable. Approximately 36% of babies can survive premature birth at 24 weeks, which basically means that Mommy just feels much better knowing that she passed another pregnancy milestone.

How Is Baby Growing?

Little peanut is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long, she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

So not only is the little peanut getting bigger by the day, I think Mommy is too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Little Peanut can't wait for her Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner tonight! Here is a little fun St. Patrick's Day - Corned Beef & Cabbage history!

In many parts of the United States it's a given that you'll wear something green on March 17th and have a feast of corned beef and cabbage to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Most Americans think that tradition came from Ireland, but we are wrong! An Irishman is apt to tell you that in Ireland the day is celebrated quietly, religiously, in church. Period. Of course, there are canny Irish restaurateurs who will provide corned beef and cabbage -- for the tourists! -- and eventually the custom may catch on, especially in Dublin.

However, in the old days in the old country it was "a bacon joint" and cabbage that was the common folk's fare. When the Irish emigrated across the Atlantic "pond" they found beef more easily available, and, possibly taking a tip from their fellow immigrants' Jewish cuisine, used a brisket they could "corn," (preserve with salt) in the way they'd preserved the bacon joint back home, and they cooked that with cabbage and potatoes.

Weekend Update!

We hope everyone had a great weekend! It was pretty cloudy both Saturday and Sunday in our neck of the woods so it made for a lazy feeling weekend for us. Saturday was pretty low-key. We did a little nursery furniture shopping in the morning, with no success but it was one of those days where I hit the wall pretty early so we came home to eat some lunch. Good thing though because Wes ended up getting a migraine which wiped him out for the rest of the day too. So needless to say, Saturday we both were a big ball of fire ha!

Sunday was a little better though. After finally pulling ourselves away from a show about The Plague on the History Channel (again, blaming it on the weather) I ran a few errands to Costco, Home Depot and Michael's. I decided to make a Scrapbook for little peanut about what her first 9 months of life was like ha! I also picked up a sample of paint at Home Depot for the nursery. Then after lunch it was the usual cleaning and getting ready for the work week tasks before crashing around dinner time. So, all in all, a pretty laid back weekend for us!

Little Peanut's Likes & Dislikes...

I thought this might be something fun to post about since I tend to get a lot of questions about what I have been craving lately. Here's a brief list of what little peanut has made it very clear that she likes, and dislikes...

General Likes:

1. Brussel Spouts: I know...weird huh? She can't get enough of these.
2. Pineapple: I have always liked pineapple, but now I can't get enough.
3. Cranberry Juice: Any kind, Cranberry Juice Cocktail, with apple, cherry, etc!
4. Decaf Coffee: Maybe it's the warmth?
5. Dairy Queen Blizzards: That's right. Although I have only caved once so far, baby craves them every day!!
6. Bland Chicken: Baby LOVES to have some kind of non-fancy, bland chicken for dinner.
7. Salmon: Although you have to be careful because of Mercury, Baby has been loving Salmon.
8. Oatmeal: I think Baby knows when its the weekend because she wakes up craving her Quaker oatmeal, with peanut butter and raisins ASAP!
9. Pickles: Need I say more?
10. Asparagus: We have it 2-3 times a week. Yum!
11. Lemon: Anything covered in Lemon!!

General Dislikes:

1. Chipotle: Basically anything along these lines. No smokey flavor here!!
2. Anything Spicy: Not a good combination.
3. General Seafood: She seems to be okay with it, but in general, would like to avoid seafood other then Salmon. :)
4. Broccoli: I love broccoli, but apparently, Baby does not!
5. Turkey Sandwiches: I probably ate a turkey sandwich every day for the past three years, but Baby wants absolutely nothing to do with them.
6. Salad: I used to crave salad in my first trimester, until I got one for lunch one day and found the finger of a plastic glove in it! Ever since then, baby veto's most salads.
7. Chinese Food: This is a sore spot in the Odom house since Wes loves it, but Baby certainly does not!

Latest Nursery Ideas!

Well, as you can tell by the updated colors of the blog, I tend to get bored really fast when it comes to choosing colors. That's why I have gone through about 10 different nursery designs in my head in the past few weeks. We taped and painted a few samples on the wall of different rose or green colors but just couldn't decide! So our latest idea is to still keep with our chair rail molding, with a bright white on the bottom, but paint a neutral color on the top. I can just see myself in a month getting tired of having a pink or green room, so this way, we can just keep it relatively neutral, and just add accent colors. So here is a good picture to show what we are thinking...

Wes and I have pretty simple tastes so we aren't too into a lot of the bedding that is out there with tons of flowers or animals, etc. We found very simple polka-dot bedding that we could use. I just like how simple and clean looking the above picture is with the tan, pink and brown...very subtle.

The bedding that we like has a ton of super cute matching decor, and Wes will be the first person to tell you, that I LOVE things that match ha! Ergo our stroller, pack-n-play and high chair matching set!

Weekly Update - 23 Weeks!

Well, unfortunately I don't get to post a new fruit or vegetable today haha, because little peanut is going to be a Papaya until Week 25. But, this past week has been a pretty good one! I seemed to revert a bit back to my first trimester this weekend with some nausea, but that has subsided and now I am back to feeling a bit more like myself...or at least, a pregnant version of myself! Ha!

Peanut is growing by the day, and so it my belly! I can now feel her move and kick from my lower stomach, all the way up my ribs at the same time so she must be practicing her jumping jacks.

How is Baby Growing?

It's time to turn on the radio and sway to the music! With her sense of movement well developed by now, little peanut can feel me dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound, I can actually see her squirm underneath my clothes. Especially when she is feeling extra feisty! Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that her increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your Shamus barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Weekend Update & Babies R Us!

Hi Everyone! I hope that everyone had a great weekend! This weekend went by absolutely way too fast! We had a pretty good Saturday, it was once again beautiful outside, relatively sunny and in the 70s. A nice change of pace from the 6 inches of snow we got earlier last week. That didn't exactly help motivate me to study for my midterm tomorrow, but what can you do?! Wes spent most of the day enjoying the nice weather and cleaning out the cars (which desperately needed it) and I did some spring cleaning in the house. After that, we headed to my parents house for a hot game of Pitch, where Wes ended up being the big winner of the night, creaming us all (good job honey, bring home that college education for little peanut)! We had a blast, although I did miss my usual Bourbon and Ginger during the card game. The Sparkling Apple Cider just wasn't do the trick ha.

Sunday we another busy day but again beautiful weather. I met Mary and Erin down at my parents house as they were kind enough to join me in starting our baby registry!! They were a HUGE help and I wouldn't have known where to start without them. I got pretty overwhelmed within the first 10 minutes when the Babies R Us employee looked at my like I had three heads after asking "What does Event Date mean on the paperwork?" I should have known that was my due date...but why wouldn't they just write due date then?!?! I think she got a good laugh at my level of anxiety in the store that is Costco for baby stuff. After I was already feeling a little amped up, we spent about an hour in the first section of the store, me having a anxiety attack at all the things I didn't know about, while Mary and Erin did a great job of calming me down and talking me through everything. I just about burst into tears when I found out it was common knowledge that you have to sanitize baby bottles even AFTER you wash them for the first few months. I had no idea! I just about broke out in tears thinking I was already going to be a bad mother! Between that and having no idea that I would start "leaking" even prior to giving birth and that you can't put sunscreen on a baby for the first six months, etc... I was feeling a little overwhelmed. It probably didn't help that I was tired from the Pitch playing the night before and the time change either.

However, after realizing that our child is actually going to survive despite my lack of knowledge because that's what Sister in Laws and Infant Care classes are for, I calmed myself down and really started to enjoy our trip. We were there for a little over three hours I think and I got a great run-down of everything from different types of pacifiers, to strollers, to crib sheets, to diaper bags, you name it! We got a great start on the registry and I can't wait to have Wes come next time to pick out more! We were absolutely exhausted by the time we left but I can't thank Mary and Erin enough for spending so much time with me and helping us out with a great start! Thanks Ladies!!

Guess What Wes Felt Last Night?!?!

Wes FINALLY got to feel little peanut kick (or punch) last night!! We have been trying for about two weeks now as her movements have become much stronger! Well, up until last night she has been pretty stubborn and would stop kicking or punching as soon as Daddy ran over and put his hand on my tummy. So for two weeks its been really frustrating as both Wes and I really wanted him to feel her kick!

Well, last night in class she was kicking and punching up a storm (although I still can't tell whether it's a kick, punch, knee, elbow, etc). Of course it was right when we had no access to Daddy and she was going crazy! I actually saw my belly move for the first time in class and boy was that hard to not have a reaction in the middle of a lecture haha. My work badge was resting on my tummy and I just happened to look down at the exact time she kicked and she kicked my badge almost off my belly!! I think we have a little soccer star on our hands!

So I ran home to tell Wes and yet again she was calm and quiet when we were around Daddy (maybe its his laid back personality that calms her down). Well finally after eating some salad, she was up and about again and after a few tries with Daddy's hand on the belly, he felt her!! His reaction was priceless! He then proceeded to lay his head on my tummy to see if he could hear her...well, she took that as a opportunity for a swift kick/punch right to Daddy's ear! Ha! Mommy thought it was really funny. :)

So things are going well! She is moving like crazy now and I have been feeling pretty good! Here is a belly picture that we took this morning on her 22 Week Birthday!

Weekly Update - 22 Weeks!

Time is flying by!! At least for now it is...I am sure when we hit 30 - 35 weeks though it might slow down haha! Things are still going really well...here is our 22 Week update! From now on, little peanut only gets a new fruit or vegetable every couple of weeks...so she is a Papaya until Week 25...

How is Baby Growing?

At 11 inches (about the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, little peanut is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If we could see her right now, we would be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside her belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Back to Work Tomorrow!! Come On Snow!!

So for anyone who doesn't live in the local or surrounding areas of Maryland, they are calling for 5 - 8 inches of snow tonight and through tomorrow morning. I was just telling Wes yesterday (the day after it was over 60 degrees outside) that I was really hoping we would get at least ONE big snow this winter! Well, this isn't quite as big as I was hoping for but who knows! I find myself constantly looking outside hoping for a blizzard so I can stay at home and ponder nursery design all day tomorrow haha.

We had a pretty productive weekend, well mostly yesterday. After a slow start to the morning I got moving and did some more painting upstairs to hopefully finish before little peanut arrives. I got two more doors painted (except still needs one final coat on one side) so they are ready for new door handles and hardware this week! I also taped up a few paint samples on the wall to help us try to envision what little peanut's room will look like. It's so hard to choose! In between coats of painting, we finally got started on unpacking the Dining Room. Until Wes's friend Mike Kim came up to visit on Friday and helped Wes move the hutch back against the wall, we were on hold putting our China away, which resulted in a big mess of the Dining Room. So after that, I pretty much hit my limit and passed out on the couch about 30 minutes into our movie at 8:30PM last night haha. Today has been a different story though. The little peanut has let me know from the moment I woke up that I was on my feet a little too much yesterday. As a result, I have been completely exhausted and lethargic all day. Ah well! What peanut needs, peanut gets!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!