Baby Pump Progression - 15, 19, & 23 Weeks!

Again, I wish I'd done 16, 20 and 24 for those people that associate those milestone weeks with "months". However, if that is the case, then I'll actually be pregnant for 10 months! Oh well.

Things continue to go well. I feel good and have lots of energy most of the time. Since I have time on my hands and baby on the brain, my true ridiculousness tends to come out. I spent about 3 hours creating the most extensive "Needs" spreadsheet. I've got everything we've registered for (Babies 'R Us and Target) as well as items that we've already purchased. Of course it is color coded and includes tax and shipping columns....I know, I have too much time on my hands! I'm hoping that it will help keep us organized and will be an easy way of determining things we still need as well as what generous people have given us.

Although it is not a big secret, we've decided on a name. We've known for a while now, but for some reason haven't made it overly public. Well, for the inquiring people that want to know, our little guy's Irish roots will really shine....his name will be Connor Patrick Nealon. It took us quite a while to agree on a boy name. We wanted something a little unique without sounding made up or "too big" for a little boy. Connor it is. Brian's middle name is Patrick and it is also his dad's name (and his brother's middle names too). If the baby was a girl, she would have had my middle name, so that is how we are keeping family traditions going. Of course we hope that everyone likes it, but if you don't...keep it to yourself...we ain't changin' it!

I'm sure many of you know that Virginia got some crazy weather last night and was hit with tornadoes pretty hard. Obviously, we are fine. I'm embarrassed to say that I should have been more concerned. I was irritated that Oprah never came on and I got to look at radar the whole hour....I didn't have any idea it was so serious. Thankfully, Brian got home early yesterday, otherwise he could have been in the thick of it all. We never heard siren or anything, but got quite a heavy downpour yesterday and this morning as well. We are very thankful to be fine and certainly feel for all of those whose lives got flipped upside-down yesterday. God bless them.

I guess that is it for now. Oh, one more pregnancy note....although I don't really know what I'm talking about, I think Connor is pretty low. I thought I had to pee about 15 times today, but then nothing happened. He's probably sitting on my bladder! This is new for me, so I'm anxious to see if it lasts and what surprise will come up next!

Love and hugs ——allison, Brian & Connor!

22 Weeks...and other things to think about

According to BabyCenter.com
(Switch out "she" for "he".)
Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches the length of a spaghetti squash and almost 1 pound. Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily.

Things are good on my end. I can absolutely no longer sleep on my stomach (even when I try to cheat by pulling one knee up really far) or on my back either. Although I enjoy sleeping on my sides sometimes, the lack of another option causes me to wake up several times during the night. This morning I think I tried to cheat and sleep on my stomach and it actually made me feel a little nauseous....at least that is all I can figure. I was able to go back to sleep for a few hours after Brian left and I completely took over the bed on my left side.

He is moving around a lot now and Brian felt him (it was a little one) for the first time the other day. It is still pretty hard to believe that in about 18 weeks we'll be holding him in our arms! We are trying to prepare ourselves for as much as we can, but I know there will be many surprises that new parents can't "prepare" for.

This past Saturday we went nursery furniture shopping in Richmond at a place called USA Baby. I'd seen a few styles online at JCPenny and Babies 'R' Us, but I think we'll probably end up ordering a beautiful set from USA Baby. I'm glad we went early because we found out that sometimes it can take 8 weeks or more for the pieces to come in. So, we'll probably decide and order in the next few weeks. The fact that we aren't sure where we are going to be makes things a little more difficult, but at this point we are just planning on still being in the apartment. I want to keep the bed in our guest room, but I'm not sure what we'll do with the rest of the furniture in there?! Like all things...I'm sure we'll figure it out.

I've also been doing a lot of stroller research. After living in Europe, Brian and I saw a lot of really cool strollers that work beautifully on cobblestones. Although cobblestones are not a big issue here, the idea of a stroller that can go everywhere (thick grass, beach, grocery store, jogging, etc.) is very appealing. We are still trying to figure out exactly what we want but another part of the equation is car seats. So, if you have little kids please share what kind of infant car seat you got and if you would recommend it. :) The Graco SafeSeat Step 1 looks appealing because it is an infant car seat that accommodates a child up to 30 lbs and 32 inches....most infant car seats only work for kids up to about 22 lbs. The downside is the empty car seat is heavier than its smaller neighbor, the Graco SnugRide by about a pound and a half. Either of these seats, as well as the Maxi Cosi Mico can fit with an adapter onto the stroller we are thinking about to create a travel system.

Anyway, of course there are a ton of things to think about and consider before our little guy arrives. Any product recommendations would be greatly appreciated before we register for anything. I am a firm believer that other moms and dads are the best ones to ask about stuff we'll need!

18 weeks to go!

Granny's New Kitty, Tabby

Christmas of 2006 my dad and I took my dad's mom, "Granny" a kitty from Georgia....she is named Belle. Yesterday, Granny got her a new little friend named Tabby. Although Belle is not sure of the situation yet, Granny has been e-mailing me pictures of the new, adorable addition to the family.

In the first one, Granny said she'd worn herself out from playing all morning and needed a nap, but wanted to keep an eye on her sitting in the next chair over. :)

Popsicle Kisses, and Big Bear Hugs....

Little red wagons, and jars full of bugs,
Grass stains, football games, lots of toys,
Oh the joy....WE'RE HAVING A BOY!

Our little guy decided to show off at the very beginning of our ultrasound today! Brian spotted the "goods" before the ultrasound tech even mentioned it. Her response was, "It is definitely NOT a girl!"

I already love that little nose!

Check out that mitt! :) One of the first things Brian said was, "I get to coach T-Ball!"

Brian's reaction to the news of the little guy! (I honestly think he would have been just as excited about a little girl.)





Apparently he is "very well endowed" according to the tech....he has a proud father. :)Look at those adorable little feet!

We couldn't be more excited and it was so fun to see his perfect little hands, feet and a beautiful little nose. His heart, brain, and everything else looks fantastic. He is weighing in at 12 oz. and is perfectly happy inside his current home.

The whole ultrasound that was supposed to take 30 minutes ended up taking an entire hour. Our little munchkin was very happy where he was and didn't feel like flipping around. I had to rotate all over the table and then sit up for a while to try to get him to move his head. Thus, when this picture was taken. I must say that I am proud because the tech said he probably wasn't responding to all the poking and proding because my stomach muscles are still "taut"....I'm proud! He finally did decide to cooperate and we got the pictures of the 4 chambers of his heart that we needed.

According to BabyCenter.com, at 20 weeks the baby is the length of a banana...head to toe, no longer bump to rump.

We are going out to eat to celebrate....Brian says this kid needs steak.

We found these at TJMaxx on our way home from our celebration dinner (we walked...Longhorn is close)! These are celebratory shoes!

Wofford Women II (WW2)

This is the second time that all of the women on my mom's side of the family have gotten together. Once again, the party has been held at my aunt & uncle's (Judy "Nanny" & Hal), lakehouse in Kingsland, Texas--outside Austin. Of course there are many representatives missing, but we all stem from my mom's maternal grandparents: married in or blood, we are all a part of the group (Carrie is close enough to go ahead and call her family!).

On Thursday, April 3, I flew from Richmond to Atlanta and met up with my mom and Carrie in Atlanta and flew to Houston. There, we met up with Elisa Beth and jumped on another plane to Austin. We got to spend the night at my aunt and uncle's wonderful house the top of a big hill in the middle of Texas hill country. The property is full of character with Mesquite and Cedar trees all over the grounds, a "little house" that Nanny continues to see clients, a "little chapel", a barn and a wonderful home with lots of full size window seats you can sleep on, beautiful stacked stone and stone floors (from before it became popular) and breathtaking views of the Austin skyline from almost every room in the house.
Friday morning, we slept in and then headed to Kingsland....making a pit-stop in Marble Falls to eat at the Blue Bonnet Cafe to have great homestyle food and wonderful pie. Jill joined us to eat and then we came to the lakehouse. My first cousin, Brad, dropped off his wife, Rachel and youngest son, 8 month old Max then headed with 2 older sons, Matthew and Weston to stay with my uncle Hal at the house. It was great to get to see them, if only for a very short time. Of course we have had a wonderful time with the baby! With both me and my sister-in-law, Elisa being pregnant (due at the end of October!), there was lots of pregnancy talk too.

On Saturday we were joined by my other cousin, David's wife, Annette and more of my mom's female first cousins: Kathy, Molly, and Sarah. Hannah and Anna joined us and wonderful representatives of Generation 5. John (another first cousin) blessed us with his presence for several hours around dinner.

Hannah and Anna have a priceless friendship and fit in perfectly. They entertained themselves most of the time and graced us with a fashion show on Saturday night! Themes ranged from "Sweet & Sassy" to "Swimwear". It was great!


It is now Sunday morning and we are all packing up and getting ready to head out. Nanny has been the most wonderful hostess and I'm glad she has planned for/allowed herself and extra night here at the lake by herself to wind down.

A great time has been had by all and I am so thankful to be related to so many wonderful women. Those that were absent were truly missed and hopefully we'll be able to get together (with the boys too) in the near future.

Now I must pack the computer too. :)

Persistence Pays Off—Ultrasound in 1 WEEK!

Change the ultrasound countown from 19 days to 7———YIPPEE! I've called the office numerous times to see if they could fit me in somewhere and was told to call back again this week in case the ultrasound tech decided to work on a Friday (must be nice). Anyway, THEY GOT US IN! My appt. is at 2:40 next Wednesday!!! I'm so excited I could do the dance of joy! (Perfect Strangers from back in the day...I know, I'm a geek....a VERY excited geek.)

Baby Bump Progression

I'm definitely getting bigger. My "sway" back doesn't help much either. I know it is dumb that I didn't do 16, 20, 24, etc. Oh well. Take it or leave it. :) I don't think this shirt will make it to the end though...the cable knit is already stretching a lot in the middle...oops.

The baby is moving around a lot right now....hehehe. It is hard to describe, but not like "butterflies" as I was expecting, probably closer to popcorn popping inside. I'm anxious for Brian to be able to feel it, but at this point it is still pretty sporatic and he isn't keen on keeping his hand on my belly for long, extended periods of time!