26 week update!

Hello dear friends and internet, the Lovelace fam has been busy! Not only have we been growing like a weed, but we got to see Baby Love and had maternity photos taken! It's been a busy photo-filled week(s) -- excited to share some pictures on the blog, for those who aren't already inundated by way of facebook (Hi Dad!)

We celebrated Valentine's day by having our photoshoot on Saturday with my charming and awesome friend and photographer, Travis (www.traviscurryphotography.com), had a romantical steak dinner on Sunday, and some flowers came to my office on Tuesday!

I loves me some multicolored roses!

I also can't live without instagram...another gift of the Iphone!

We spent the rest of the week getting our celebration on, in anticipation of getting another sneak peak at Baby Boy Lovelace! We did ye olde "Wednesday Night Special" at our local 3D joint ($70.00 for 20 minutes of fun, a ringing endorsement!) as a gift to ourselves. Or maybe I was obsessed and decided we should go. It's amazing to see how much he has grown! 

Check him out, in all his glory!

Get a load of this cutie!

I am very strong #Team Lovelace with this kiddo's profile...Glenn's family has a prominent brow-bone and HUGE beautiful eyes, and I think the forehead/eye area is all Glenn. 

Glenn says he looks like he has a mustache in this one

Always covering his little face, but look at those cute lips!

Our one and only "face on" shot

Even the directly "face on" shot I am seeing Lovelace in the forehead/eyes and bridge of nose area...he may have a bit of me in his nose and lips and chin shape. 

Cute little tootsie -- 2nd long toe = All Lovelace!

And one last side profile shot

I know ultrasounds (even the 3d versions) are creepy as all get-out, and I am the first to admit they all can look pretty damn similar...but it is fun to try to discern features from each side of the family. Having a hard time seeing much of "me" in these photos - but love that he's looking like his papa!

And because you all know (or do now) that I am crazy, I did some combos with our newborn photos. I unfortunately don't have good versions of mine due to an unfortunate accident with vomit on my face right after I was born with a resulting rash ...butttttt here's an idea:

my verdict : my lips/chin - everything else Glenn!

All in the eyes! Look how cute baby SGML was!

So yes, it was totally worth it to get these images and see Mr. Baby Man dancing around and showing off on screen. The ultrasound tech this go round was leaps and bounds better than the last and really took her time AND more photos than she really had to. No complaints here!

This week was really good for me workout-wise....I got to spend some time in the sun and get some Vitamin D and have stayed in the gym sweating on my best friend the elliptical. Glad to say I am feeling really quite wonderful health wise....of course we all have our Jesus H. Christ on a Dirtbike I'm Huge and the Scale says WHAT?! days but more often than not I crave working out and really do feel a sense of calm afterward. 

25 weeks  5 days? 

Could it be that the rampant huge amazonian growth is over and I am about par for the 26 week course by now? I don't feel "AS" out of control as I had been, but maybe people are just becoming kinder and not telling me I look as big post 4 & 5 months preggo? 

How far along? In the photos, 25 weeks 5 days...I am currently 26 weeks 5 days. Still Johnny-On-It with the upkeep around here. 

Total weight gain: I worked out 4-5 times this week and have been tracking like a mofo...oddly I was at 20 lbs of weight gain, but it can randomly jump to 23....the scale reads at 170-173 at different points of the day. Yes, I weigh as much as a male athlete these days. I OWN IT...ALLADIS bump and subsequent poundage. Even if my dad did tell me I look "pleasantly plump". Let's make better word choices, pops. 

Maternity clothes? Lil Erin was right. Eventually the long sized shirts just don't work and you have to switch to some maternity gear. I know this because my lengthier of sleepytime T's and workout clothes have the base of my bump popping out all over. It's really ridiculously attractive. Still holding strong and refusing to buy any tops though, and making do!

Stretch marks? Nope, and holding strong. My skin elsewhere is still that of a hormonal teenage boy (if I weigh as much as one, I may as well have awesome skin like one too, eh?) I broke down and bought some Mederma because I am fearing scarring with this crazy odd series of blemishes and it makes me want to itch my face off. 14 weeks to go. 

Sleep: Falling asleep on the couch sometimes..Glenn knows if I pass out to let me just sleep until I wake up (often times at 4-5am) and I transfer to bed. I get all the sleep I can when I can. Often times I am antsy and can't just "try" to go to bed like a normal person, so whatever works, works. 

Best moment this week: Let's have a best and worst, shall we? This week lead to some major dramz by way of the facebook (where all ridiculous drama starts, no?) that opened up my eyes to how opinionated and hormonal we all are as women. Parts of it were laughable, some moments were frustrating, and feelings were unintentionally hurt. I guess it's nice to have an outlet to share opinions and watch what unfolds. The best part of week? For sure getting our maternity photos done! I will have a separate blog in reference to this soon, but holy cats am I impressed and SO happy we went ahead and captured this moment in our lives! I truly feel that every woman should get an opportunity to feel beautiful while jocking a womb monkey and have the photos to show for it! A sneak peak here:

look how fancy we are!

Miss Anything? A sense of calm....the closer we get the more antsy and restless I feel. TV is boring, the internet browsing and blog perusing make me yawn, and I am not interested in any books. I feel like I "should be" doing something, or that time should be moving faster. I miss alot of my friends in PA and NY and appreciate all the support they've provided...thankful for technology & social media to stay in touch. 

Movement: Feeling him more and more each day...my abdomen has been feeling "heavier" and per my ultrasound he is head down with his feet towards my ribs (mostly the right side). We had dinner with friends and he was active enough for the majority of our group to feel him kick...seeing their faces react to this was awesome! I love his little "love taps" throughout the day. This is why preggo women are rubbing our bellies all day long. 

Food cravings: Lately SMOOTHIES. Hello strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, nice to meet you...now get in my mouth. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really...although baby boy's growth has been making my ribs hurt (especially after I eat)

Gender: #teampenis

Labor Signs: Nope, nope, nope

Symptoms: Feeling pretty fantastic other than gross acne, rib pain, and sometimes I think I look super tired in the morning. 

Belly Button in or out? So awkard and weird. It is still an innie but a flat innie and if I flex parts of it pop out. EWWWWWWWW

Wedding rings on or off? on. (Someone asked about this - the question is whether or not you have had to take rings off due to swelling yet)

Happy or Moody most of the time: I had one day earlier this week where I felt super tired and just not very "present" even though there was no need to feel moody. Hey, hormones are a bitch. 9 times out of 10 I feel as pleasant as a basket full of kittens so I can take a foul day here and there. 

Looking forward to: Our little "babymoon" in NYC. Glenn has somehow never been to NY, so we are taking a quick trip up next weekend to stay in Times Square like tourists and see a show at Madison Square Garden. This is part of a surprise Christmas gift from Glenn, and I am looking forward to having a special weekend just for us!

see you in the not so belated future!

8 weeks & counting...frustrations aplenty

So we had our first "official" prenatal visit. If you can call it much of a visit. I know I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for any bells and whistles, but I left feeling like the entire process was super structured and cold. We met with a nurse practitioner who didn't really answer any of my questions "they will get to that at your 12 week appointment" and basically gave me a brief pap smear "your uterus seems to be at the 6-8 week mark size wise", some pamphlets and a referral for blood tests and a sonogram and sent me on my merry way. 

When we asked about viability she basically told me that if I had peed on sticks that said I was pregnant I was pregnant and to wait for my "dating ultrasound" at 10 weeks. Not something a 1st time high-anxiety ridden mom wants to hear. That coupled with my knowledge of the ability to hear a heartbeat at 6 weeks, (countless friends have had ultrasounds from 5 weeks on),  and the fact that these different practices pick a random arbitrary date out of their ass to determine if/when an ultrasound could be done really grinded my hormonal gears. I don't know why I was so upset (yes I do, I am neurotic & hormonal), but I basically cried from the time we left the appointment to the time we got home. If there's one thing I hate in life it's not KNOWING something or being able to PLAN for something. I am a planner by trade (well, job) and feel a comfort in knowing the reasons and order for things. While the NP so gleefully said, "oh 2 and a half weeks will fly right by!"  I wanted to cut the bitch. The whole experience didn't leave me with warm fuzzies. I felt like I was a pregnant cow, just being herded through the motions. Not that I wanted glitter and rainbows, but sentimentality of the experience was completely stricken. 

It's taken me a few days to get out of this funk, which is why I hadn't updated in some time. I have alot of great friends who were of a huge help in making me relax and take it easy on myself and this baby. I have to accept that I don't know whether or not everything is okay, and will simply have to wait these arbitrary 2.5 weeks until the ultrasound, as much as it feels like every fiber of my being is white hot in frustration. I just can't imagine that with our technological advances we can't give some sort of "breathe easy" standardized treatment. I am aware that some early ultrasounds are only for high-risk pregnancies....but in all honestly, all pregnancies should be "high risk" until we know otherwise, yes? They all essentially start out the same - so what is the harm in helping a person relax?

Off of that soap box -- special shout out to Alexis, who sent me a very thoughtful gift in the mail Mama to Be Tea! It was so unexpected and appreciated! Glenn retrieved the package at the door and was all "what'd you order from Amazon now?!" Upon opening the box I burst into hormonal (but happy!) tears.  I have tried 2 of the varieties in the sampler and both are fantastic! Since I have not been drinking coffee, I have looked to these warm beverages as a special treat. 

Last week I went to visit my mom in West Virginia to take part in some fall festivals and to see my grandparents, but previous to that Glenn and I went to see the Tuneyards. It was pretty much the greatest live band experience I have ever seen. Glenn got to drink some delicious Natty Boh's and I got a requisite band shirt because I am a nerd. 

no flash - no problem

We ended up having beautiful weather all weekend long, and Grandma, Mom and I did some crucial shopping at lawn sales and the Colorfest and Apple Butter Festival. Alot of quality eating was done as well. 

once we finally found eachother in a sea of thousands

Papa Howie, 89 years young!

Dancing at the Troubadour!

We went to one yard sale where the woman had a bunch of baby clothes and furnishings and made out like bandits. I have no shame in buying used things, especially because so much of what you need for a child they grow out of ASAP and it can be expensive if bought outright. So long as items are clean and well taken care of I am totally pro. So totally like...green of me. Ha! In any event we got a bouncy chair, a bunch of unisex (read: yellow and white) sleepers and some boppy covers. We were quite pleased with ourselves. My grandma is also already working on an afghan!