34 Weeks

How far along: 34 weeks
Total weight gain: 33 lbs.
Sleep: I dread going to sleep. My hips start hurting as soon as I lay down, my hands swell because I lay on them, my feet tingle because they're swelling. And randomly my face will start to swell so much my throat almost feels cut off. So in the middle of the night I have to prop myself up to get the swelling to go down. One day I'll be able to flop on the bed in any position and it will be glorious!
Sickness: Nope
Cravings:BREADS! Nice soft, doughy, buttery, breads.
Make me queasy: Yogurt of any kind
General Symptoms: OMG THE SWELLING! I am so tired of feeling enormous. One day I won't be a giant puff ball.
Miss anything: SANDWICHES - roast beef, salami, meat in general
Maternity Clothes: The same maternity jeans and I bought a few new tops from Macy's. But that's it. I can't afford to buy too many and with just under 6 weeks left it doesn't make much sense.
Movement: All the time! Though it has decided to change up the times. It used to move a lot around 3-5PM and then from like 7PM through the night. Now it moves at night only if I sit up and seems to move a lot in the morning during my drive into work. Needless to say they time change really freaked me out but I'm getting used to it's new pattern.
Gender Prediction:I think it's a boy now. While I think Max and I would love a little girl, the more I look at my belly and how I'm carrying and the more I think about it, I think it's a boy. Obviously we will be happy with either.

Names I like at the moment:
I think we've decided!

       Girl: Claire
       Boy: Jack

The baby is now the size of a squash. From here on out nothing really exciting is happening. It's putting on weight and bulking up for birth. It's brain is still developing and will continue to until birth (and hopefully after ;-))

Sierra Anchas

Ok this is a little behind but a few weekends ago Max and I woke up and decided that we didn't just want to sit around the house like bumps on a log so Max came up with the great idea of having a picnic beside a creek in the Sierra Anchas (a mountain range in Eastern Arizona). Max always brags that its one of his favorite places in the state and it was a great chance to get out and try my new camera.

He told me there was going to be a nice creek, cool weather (sorry rest of the US), and a beautiful water fall.

 Don't judge my photos too harshly. I'm a newb. I also got the camera without a view finder and the screen was hard to see in the sun light. Again sorry rest of the US :)

We packed up the dogs, made some sandwiches and headed out. It was about a 2 hr. drive and of course we had to stop several times to let me go to the bathroom but we weren't in any rush and Max was very nice about it. I have never seen that part of the state so it was cool to get to see something new.

The creek was so gorgeous and the weather was amazing. I even got to bust out a hoodie to cut the breeze. We enjoyed some PB&J's beside the creek while the dogs attempted to drink it dry :).
 
We were then going to drive to the top of the waterfall but the road was still closed from "winter". I told Max that if we took it slow we could walk to the top. It was a nice road so it wasn't difficult just uphill and baby's head seemed to love to rub up against my pelvic bone every time I took a step. While it was more difficult than it would have been 8 months ago; it wasn't bad. Max was great with letting me stop and rest when I need to during this pathetically short hike and Honey's herding skills kept me going and in line. It was a team effort :).

Just a man and his dogs...

But baby and mom made it to the top!

Before I was pregnant Max and I used to take long drives around the state to see and do different things and I have missed that. It was such a great way to spend a Saturday. And who doesn't love a little adventure time ;).

Arizona Baby Shower

Over the weekend two of my friends and mother-in-law threw me a wonderful baby shower! It was so nice to get to see everyone.

We played some really fun games which included a baby version of the Price is Right and somehow I ended up with all the stuff they were guessing the price of. Which was amazing! Of course they got a prize for guessing correctly too.

I had asked everyone to show up in either blue or pink to represent their thought of what baby Wilson will be and of course I forgot to take a picture. But just so I have some documentation: only 3 out of 13 people think it's a girl, everyone else showed up in blue and I was neutral in green :)

Everyone got us way more than they needed to but it's so great to have so many things checked off our list.

Thank you to all those involved in the planning, everyone who came, and of course for everything we received.

I guess it really does take a village :)

32 Weeks

I passed the glucose test!! Thank god. Since that was the last test we have officially scheduled the remainder of our appointments. Only a few more every other week then down to weekly appointments! I can't wait to meet our little baby.

How far along: 32 weeks
Total weight gain: 29 lbs.
Sleep: I dread going to sleep. I'm so tired but it hurts so much. My hips start throbbing and cramping as soon as I lay down, my feet are super swollen and throbbing and everything generally hurts.
Sickness: Nope
Cravings:BREADS! Nice soft, doughy, buttery, breads.
Make me queasy: Yogurt of any kind
General Symptoms: That spot below my right boob still hurts off and on. Sometimes it hurts so much I have to shield it from the glass like daggers known as water drops in the shower. Also no contractions yet! Though I have had some sharper pains down there, so my body is definitely warming up for the main event! OMG THE SWELLING! My feet are grotesque, my hands look like sausages, my neck/face/shoulders are super puffy. I already asked the dr. about preeclampsia and we should be ok there but I'll ask again at my next appointment just to make sure. I can't stand this swelling. Only 8 more weeks. Only 8 more weeks. Only 8 more weeks.
Miss anything: SANDWICHES - roast beef, salami, meat in general
Maternity Clothes: The same maternity jeans but all the maternity tops I have are long sleeve since they were purchased in winter. And since this is AZ it's already 80+ degrees every day and those shirts no longer function. Max and I can't afford new clothes especially since I have so little left to go and I'd rather spend the money on nursing tops/dresses so my wardrobe now is interesting to say the least. I'm still trying to use some old shirts that stretch and I have worn at least one of Max's too-small button downs. I doctored it up with a pretty necklace and skinny jeans. I actually got some compliments which made me feel better about my fat swelling body ;)
Movement: All the time! And they are stronger than ever. I was sitting on the sofa a few nights ago and my whole belly jumped and spasmed. It kinda freaked Max out as it looked like a scene from Alien but it was still cute :)
Gender Prediction: I tried to move to team boy but I still secretly think it's a girl. So I'm officially moving back to team girl and setting up residence. Of course if it's a boy we will be just as ecstatic.

Names I like at the moment:
I think we've decided!

       Girl: Claire
       Boy: Jack

The baby is now the size of a squash. It's probably in the head down position getting ready for birth!

New Camera

A few days ago I officially got my new mom camera! I am so excited to start taking pictures of our little family. And it's so much nicer than my 5 yr. old point and shoot.

Back in 2010 Max picked up photography when he did his Biology Master's thesis over in Tibet. There were just too many cute animals and beautiful scenery to not have a nice camera so we picked him up a DSLR before he left.

Now three cameras later he is some what of an armature expert in photography. Certainly better than me since I usually use my phone which is cracked so all the pictures are grainy (hence these ones, they'll be better now!).

After extensive research (we are nerds after all) Max told me to chose between the Sony RX100 point and shoot or the Sony a5100. I ended up getting the Sony a5100. It's a bit bigger but seemed to fit me the best. I won't go into the details because I only vaguely understand them myself but basically it's pretty sweet.

It takes great pictures and is easy to use for a novice like me. It has super cool features to help you with focus, lighting, motion, etc. that make me feel like a true photographer and make my pictures look much nicer :).


If you want more details on the differences between the two camera's we were debating (Sony RX100 and the a5100) let me know. If I get enough requests I'll have Max do a guest post to fill you all in :).

30 Weeks

At last week's appointment I had the dreaded glucose test. But I have to say after reading dozens of blogs that tell you how terrible it is and how much you will hate your life during it, it really wasn't that bad. I had a fruit punch flavored drink instead of the orange flavor that a lot of people talk about which maybe made a difference; I don't know. But it tasted like really sweet juice. They also took it right of the fridge so it was SUPER cold. They make you drink the whole thing in under 5 minutes to basically make sure you jam pack as much sugar in your blood as possible. Then an hour later they take your blood to determine how your body dealt with it. The test is to determine whether or not you have gestational diabetes. My Dr. goes with the "no news is good news" rule. So since I haven't heard from them in over a week I am assuming everything came back fine. I have another appointment a week from now so I'll probably ask then just to make sure :). But all in all it was super easy and not nearly as terrible as I was envisioning. 

How far along: 30 weeks
Total weight gain: 24 lbs.
Sleep: Constantly waking up to roll over and stretch out my hips.
Sickness: Nope
Cravings:BREADS! Nice soft, doughy, buttery, breads.
Make me queasy: Yogurt of any kind and too many sweets
General Symptoms: Ever since this pregnancy started I have been having this tingling feeling on my rib cage under my right boob. It has gradually turned into pain, and then into a burning feeling. Like needles being poked into a sunburn. I asked the dr. and apparently like 5% of pregnant women get this and there is no real explanation - oh good. So the only solution I have is ignoring it or when it's really bad putting aloe gel on it to soothe the burning. So if any of you are also experiencing this I am sorry and maybe try some aloe.
Miss anything: SANDWICHES - roast beef, salami, meat in general
Maternity Clothes: Just the same maternity jeans and tops and I still mix in some old stretchy favorites
Movement: Pretty good. After writing the last time that it seemed to have slowed down the baby sensed it and is now moving a lot. It does take some days off but for the majority it moves pretty strong and constant.
Gender Prediction: I go back and forth. I think I'm going to switch to team boy for a while and try to make it even ;)

Names I like at the moment:
Girl: Claire, Olivia, Charlotte (Charlie), Lucy
Boy: Jack, Edward (Ed, Eddie), Nathan (Nate), Neal, Luke

The baby is now the size of an cucumber. Clearly they mean in length and not in weight since the baby now weights about 3lbs. And a 3lb cucumber would definitely win some awards :). The baby is now strong enough to grasp one of our fingers!

Chevron Blanket Tutorial - Crochet

I started crocheting about 4-5 years ago and have been waiting for the day I can start making things for my own baby. And that time has finally come!

I of course started with a blanket as those are the most useful and common. Max and I didn't find out the sex of our baby so I stuck with neutral colors but feel free to use whatever colors you would like.

A few things to note about the pattern below:

1. I chose 4 colors but feel free to choose as many or as little as you want
2. I made each color line two rows wide but you can do as many as you want. I would suggest the less colors you have the wider the rows.
3. Hook size: I-5.5mm 

Stitches you will need to know:

• chain
• double crochet (dc)
• double crochet 3 together (dc3tog)
• joining colors

Let's begin!

1. With the first color chain 115.
• If you chain 115 and it doesn't seem large enough either try moving up a hook size or you can increase the blanket size by increasing your chain in increments of 16. This is not an exact science as it's my first time making it so this might involve some trial and error. Good news is you will know if the pattern will work if row 2 works out so you wont waste much time.
2. Dc in third chain from hook and in the next 6 stitches (7 dc total), dc3tog, dc in next 6 stitches. REPEAT until last stitch: 3 dc in next stitch, dc in next 6 stitches, dc3tog, dc in next 6 stitches. 2 dc in last stitch. Turn.
• This should make 7 ripples if you chained 115.
3. Ch 3, dc in first 7 dc, dc3tog, dc in next 6 dc. REPEAT to last stitch: 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 6 dc, dc3tog, dc in next 6 dc. 2 dc in top of ch-3 changing to the next color in the last dc. Turn.
4. Ch3, dc in same dc and next 6 dc, dc3tog, dc in next 6 dc. REPEAT to last stitch: 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 6 dc, dc3tog, dc in next 6 dc. 2 dc in top of ch-3. Turn.
5. Ch 3, dc in first 7 dc, dc3tog, dc in next 6 dc. REPEAT to last stitch: 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 6 dc, dc3tog, dc in next 6 dc. 2 dc in top of ch-3 changing to next color in last dc. Turn.
6. REPEAT rows 4 and 5 until the blanket reaches your desired length. Fasten off.

Here are few pictures of mine: Don't worry it's not finished yet, it will get bigger :).

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to leave a comment!