Week 14

September 6 - September 12

How far along?
13 weeks and 4 days along and baby is about the size of a lemon (or about 3 inches long). Apparently this week the baby is growing by leaps and bounds and is starting flowing, continuous movements...but none of which I can feel yet. What I can feel are the random aches in my abs that FEEL like I've been working out too much (which certainly is NOT the case) but are actually my abdominal muscles moving and stretching to accomodate my growing belly.

What's circulating in my brain?
Volleyball, volleyball, volleyball. I've been having dreams about volleyball and my girls this week. I have a group of very talented 8th graders, but for some reason I can't seem to get them to gel on the court and so we've lost our first two games. I had to bring out the "mean" coach today and we had a silent practice - no talking except for calling the ball and encouraging your teammates. There were also lots of pushups and running as consequences for dropped passes and missed serves. I don't really enjoy being the serious coach and pushing the girls in this manner, but they have to understand the importance of focus and discipline. Although they're a fairly athletic team, they can't just rely on their athletiscm and there has to be a focus on the technical aspects of passing, hitting and serving. And then there is the "trusting" each other on the court aspect - I got really tired of seeing two people trying (unsuccessfuly) to pass a ball last night. Hopefully I have gotten my point across and after a few more practices like this morning, they will have a greater understanding of what I expect and we can strike the delicate balance of having fun and maintaining our focus. After all, when we focus we can win and what is more fun than that?

I have been struggling with keeping track of my "real" emotions and my "baby induced" emotions. So many times I have had to check myself with other people - is what I'm frustrated about a valid reason to be a little peeved, or am I acting irrationally? I feel more frustrated at this point in the season than I did last year and I'm not sure if it is because of external reasons or the internal reason that is residing in my belly right now. No one wants to be labeled the "crazy pregnant lady" so I am trying very hard to distinguish between what I SHOULD be frustrated or upset about and what I am just overreacting about because of my hormones. I can't tell you how many people have had to answer the "am I crazy for feeling this way" question and to all of their great character, they all answer very calmly, respectfully and most of the time agree with me...that I'm NOT being irrational.

Or maybe they're just trying not to upset the crazy pregnant lady.

How is Craig dealing with the crazy?
I married a good man. He came to the games last night and agreed - my team did not play up to their potential and I think he knew that I was very frustrated. It was so great that when I got home after a VERY long day (for more reasons than just volleyball) I was greeted so enthusiastically by a tail wagging Angie and a hot dinner on the table from Craig. He is so patient in listening to me in the evenings these past few weeks when I've been dealing with some issues at work...and he doesn't pretend like he always has the answers but instead confirms that yes, this is something I need to address, or no...maybe I should let this thing slide. I'm probably driving him crazy with my obsessiveness on certain topics but I'm just the type of person that can't let go of a subject until there is some sort of internal or external resolution.

This week's weigh-in was a little disappointing for Craig as he didn't lose as much weight as he was hoping, but I think it inspired him to hit the gym everyday this week to speed up his metabolism so that he can continue to lose bigger chunks of weight from his total weight loss goal.

What's Angie up to?
Not really that much this week - she is definitely more settled into her routine. I'm hoping the weather cools down soon so that on the weekends and the nights that I'm home a little earlier from school Craig and I can start taking her for walks again around the neighborhood. I think it would do us all some good to get out of the house in the early evenings and get some light exercise.

Baby Gear

Yesterday I woke up feeling really great and so I convinced Craig to venture out to Frisco to look at baby stuff so we can get a good idea of how much money we'll be spending in the next few months while we prepare the house for the baby to come home in March.

Our first stop was the Stonebriar Mall where we ended up buying Craig a pair of new athletic shoes but didn't really find anything that we absolutely had to have for the baby. From there we had lunch at Applebee's (due to their special Weight Watchers diet) and then headed to Lonestar Baby which I had heard about through a friend. I was a little nervous because I thought it was a very upscale and fancy baby boutique where the prices were going to be astronomical, but it turned out to be my favorite place we visited yesterday because the prices were reasonable but the merchandise was very unique and much more suited to my tastes.

For example...

The baby girl bedding that I found and fell in love with:

Dahlia by N Selby Designs

We are going to be using the white dresser and bureau that my parents purchased for me many years ago when I got my "big girl" bedroom so that the only large pieces of furniture that Craig and I will have to buy will be a crib and glider chair. With the above bedding I would probably paint the walls a shade of lime green a little bit lighter than the lime green in the pattern. We'll be putting light brown/gray carpeting in the bedroom and I would find a chocolate brown rug to throw down in the middle of the floor as well.
Boy Bedding: Bali by Cocalo Couture

I know that the color palates are similar with the girl pattern above, but I can't help what colors and designs I am drawn to! I would also paint the walls in the babys room a light green to match this bedding as well and I think the bedding would go with white furniture too.

After Lonestar Baby we headed back south and stopped off at Babies R Us so that I could show Craig the items that my mother and I looked at last Sunday when we were shopping. She and I found a crib that is totally convertible from a crib all the way to a regular size twin bed which I knew Craig would love because it's hopefully going to save us some furniture money in the future. Our plan is to have the baby sleep in the room with us for the first few months before moving him/her to their own bedroom at the end of the hallway. BUT I didn't want to pay over $100 for a bassinet that the baby would only sleep in for three months or up until it weighed 15 lbs. Mom and I discussed other options and figured out that since Craig and I were going to buy a pack n play anyways, why not use that as the "bassinet" for the baby in those first few months?! Craig was sold on this idea (especially after checking out prices on the bassinets) and so yesterday we purchased a Graco pack-n-play in the Hamilton pattern. It is brown with green and turquoise dots (suitable for a girl or boy) but it also will match our bedroom and living room. Next month we're going to go back and get the swing for the baby as well. I don't think we'll be buying the matching stroller or high chair because the stroller looks too bulky and I am going to use a high chair that just attaches to the regular kitchen chair.

Week 13

August 20 - September 5

How far along?
12 weeks and 4 days along and baby is about the size of a peach (or about 3 inches long). This week baby's intestines are forming on the inside of it's body and the vocal chords are aslo developing!

How am I feeling?
It's been an up and down week for me which I guess is better than last week which was mostly down. I feel like my body is taking two steps forward and then one step back. Yesterday was rough because I had my first 7th grade volleyball game night and it was an away game. Between running copies, checking things off my "to take with me" list and corraling the girls, I didn't get a chance to put much food into my tummy and therefore I was pretty sick when I got off the bus at the end of the night. But what's been fun is watching the little belly expand just a smidge...but I'm not sure if it's baby or Arby's curly fries.


What's circulating in my brain?
My assistant coach from last year and good friend Jill gave birth to her beautiful baby girl named Joley on Friday evening. All day Friday I was getting update texts through her husband about the progress of the delivery. I must admit, after a long week at work...being in the hospital about to give labor and subsequently meet my baby sounded a lot better than teaching 6th grade students how to play Capture the Flag. I've had lots of friends give birth and I've even visited one special one in the hospital not even 24 hours after the delivery but for some reason this birth hit a different chord with me. Obviously I think it's because I am pregnant and in six short months Craig and myself will be in a similar position where he is sending out updates to our friends about the status of Baby Nelson. And the promise of staying home with baby for a little over a month doesn't sound too bad either.


How is Craig dealing with the crazy?
Again this week he is being absolutely awesome and making sure that I'm feeling okay and that stuff gets done around the house. Today (Sunday) has been particularly rough and I've been in bed for most of the day. Imagine my surprise when I ventured downstairs and found that he had attached a solar light fixture to the fence so that when Angie goes out at night to potty she will have some light to help her navigate the grass! So far so good with his Weight Watchers diet - in two weeks he has lost a total of 8 pounds and he is excited about weighing in tomorrow to see how much more he has lost.


What's Angie up to?
She's getting into her routine, but she's not happy about it. We wake up and she follows me into the bathroom where she pouts in her bed and I take a shower. Afterwards she has her most enjoyable moment when she gets to "wake" Craig up in the spare room because he most likely got kicked out of bed sometime during the night for his snoring. Then she gets to sleep in some more when Craig comes back to our bedroom where he sleeps in until 7:30 or so before going to work for the day. She is still being a super awesome nurse...sitting next to me in the bathroom when I get sick and then licking my feet after I'm done to let me know she loves me. I hope she is as protective and loving with this new baby as she is with me.