WIGGLE-WORM

Mover … shaker … happy-mama-and-papa-maker. That’s what Baby P was at last week’s 20 week ultrasound (Feb 19^th)!  

Our guy/gal (we still plan  to be surprised about the sex) was a fidgety little show-off for the camera.   Whenever we tried to get a good look at *his* face, he would start shifting around or cover his eyes with his hands. One time he stuck his tongue out at us and another time he waved. It was almost as if we woke up the baby during naptime and that was his way of saying “please mom & dad … just five more minutes!!!”   Aside from learning that our baby is a goofy little wiggle-worm, we were given TONS of information on Baby P’s picture-perfect health.  He has 4 heart chambers, 2 kidneys, 2 arms, 2 legs (which are VERY long), and big round belly.  His heart drummed proudly & strongly at 158 beats/minutes and his feet are 1.25” long … I can’t stop thinking about those feet!  

Below are some ultrasound videos:

Seeing our baby jiggle around was magical, as if every move was purposefully choreographed to showcase that our baby is feeling the same way we are: ecstatic to only be 20 weeks away from embracing one another. The experience caused one giant tear to fall from my left eye – it was one of the happiest moments of my life.

The past two weekends have filled our home with the love of two visitors: Jonny’s Mom (“Grammy”) and our friend Anne (“Aunt Annie”) … both of whom graced us with their beauty in our weekly baby bump photos.  Jonny made a banana-sized cameo as well (ha)!   Week 21 is really the first week that I have looked at the picture and thought to myself: I am getting bigger!!

Next week we visit our Warzala family in San Francisco in celebration of my mom’s (“Kiki’s) birthday!!! I’m sure Baby P is doing somersaults just thinking about it – we can’t wait!  

So much love & fun when Grammy visited last weekend!

Anyone else think it's funny where the "banana sized" caption is pointing in this picture?

Love laughing with my Annie-Bananie - THANK YOU for the snuggly Sock Monkey!

JETSETTER

Hello WEEK 19 – so nice to see you!   The “duck” and I started writing this entry while on a flight to New York City, one of the many places my wonderful job has afforded me to frequent over the years. Last week, I started listing all of the cities I have visited since finding out about our baby-to-be, and the list is LONG for only a 19 week span of time (click HERE to see a map).  Jonny and I really enjoy traveling, especially ever since our study abroad program in Europe, so it’s fun to think that we’re instilling a similar trait in our little one before he/she arrives!  Traveling is even more enjoyable when there are generous people who fly on the same plane as you. I experienced this joy today when a total stranger lifted my suitcase out of the overhead bin and handed it to me before I got off the plane.  A random act of kindness that I will definitely pay forward.

The past few weeks have been smooth sailing (or flying, as the case may be). My energy levels are high, I am sleeping much better than in the first trimester, and I continue to look forward to the moments when I feel our little-one fluttering in my tummy.  There are some days when the baby is more active than others, but I am sure that as the weeks pass by I will start to feel more and more movement.  I’m most looking forward to the day when the flutters are strong enough for Jonny to be able to feel them too!

A lot of people have been asking me if I’m craving any specific foods yet. There are couple of things that I rarely ate pre-pregnancy and also a couple of things that I ate frequently, but just love even more now:  

1.       Juice Boxes. This is a confusing one. I think I might like these because it gives the allusion of a “special” drink – like wine. Jonny thinks it’s because I like drinking out of a straw.

2.       McDonalds Hamburgers - like the small ones that come in a Happy Meal. To clarify, I have only had 3 of these since finding out I was pregnant (definitely not eating them all the time). But I would have never choicefully eaten this pre-pregnancy. I’m not sure if it’s the pickles or the onions or the mustard or the delightfully cute size, but something about them tastes like YUM.  

3.       Coffee Ice Cream.  Again, not something I eat a lot … but when faced with choosing an ice cream flavor, I lean towards coffee/mocha.  While I liked this flavor pre-pregnancy, it was never my first choice.

4.       Hardboiled Eggs. For the past few years I have eaten a hardboiled egg for breakfast almost every day – I love them and I find the morning protein staggers my hunger for the rest of the day.  Today I didn’t have one for breakfast and was kinda sad about it (ha), so I bought two when I got to the airport and I ate them for lunch. 

5.       Peanut Butter.  It seems like I have PB at least one meal/day – whether it be on toast, on a sandwich, or in a smoothie.   Sometimes I want to have it with multiple meals, but have to restrain myself. I liked PB before – but now it’s like a “must have.”

Next week is one that we have been waiting-and-waiting-and-waiting for --- our halfway point of pregnancy and our 20 week ultrasound! We are looking forward to hearing updates on the baby’s developing brain, heart, kidneys, bones, etc.  And of course, it will be incredible to have some new pictures, so we are hoping he/she gives some personality + attitude to the camera. We can only imagine how much different the pictures are going to look compared to the ones from week 10. Until then, here are some pictures of the Baby P “bump” (and our puppies) from weeks 18 and 19.  



WEEK 19



WEEK 18

Last, but certainly not least, we owe major Thank You’s to so many of our family members and friends with kids, who have given us oodles and oodles of fantastic advice in the past few weeks. Let me tell you something: if you ever want to feel overwhelmed – just visit a baby superstore. So, we owe a big THANKS to everyone  who helped us to complete our baby registry!

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY (go Niners!)

FLUTTER

Three months have quickly passed since we found out about our “little one!” We are into our 17^th week and lots of change is happening around Hotel Pritchard.  The biggest news is that I have started to feel some little movements in my tummy! Last Friday I was resting my head in Jonny’s lap while we were watching a movie and all of a sudden I felt this little flutter – like a butterfly.  The sensation was sort of unusual, yet completely exhilarating! For the next few days I kept waiting and wishing to feel our little guy/gal move again … and today I got my wish (3x)!  I felt a few more tummy-vibrations this morning when I was listening to Adele, this afternoon after I ate lunch, and this evening during a pre-natal massage! So what we know is that Baby P likes music, food, and massages.  Sounds like my kind of kid …

We’ve also started making some changes around the house. We are turning our guest room into the nursery, so Jonny moved all the guest furniture into our upstairs loft.  He has been my awesome “Mr. Fix It” – lifting heavy things, putting new furniture together, wiring cables, etc. So thanks to Jonny P, our guests are going to have a very comfy suite when they come to visit us!   The former guest room is now empty and ready for some nursery decorating. I’ve picked out some paint and fabric samples so we can start matching colors to nursery furniture and bedding. I think we are going with an Orange Chevron pattern with accents of gray & teal.  

The second trimester is really treating me so well and I have much more energy than I did those first few weeks.  I continue to exercise 3-4 days a week, which I think is helping me to overcome some of the emotions I’ve had about all of the changes my body is going through. I find it counterintuitive that I am exercising and eating well (with the exception of an occasional sweet-tooth attack) … yet I am growing wider.   It’s funny because I was recently at dinner with my friend Lindsay and we overheard a girl at the table next to us say “I’m tired of getting wide – I’m just ready for the cute pregnant belly!!” Sooo… it’s helpful to know that other moms-to-be often go through the same awkward-phase. I need to keep reminding that these changes are normal and Baby P needs room to grow!   

I am going to try and take weekly pictures so we can capture Baby P’s growth over the next 23 weeks … is that REALLY all the time we have left???

Xo,

Kristie 

LAUGH

I wanted everyone to see how much Baby P has grown!  At week 6 our little boo was just the size of a lentil bean … and at week 16, we’ve reached avocado-status!  

Each week, I continue to eat the food that describes the size of our baby. Fortunately, all of the foods are healthy and easily accessible --- except for that stinkin’ Kumquat, which I never found.  I am sure this weekly tradition sounds strange to many of you. Who wants to EAT something that describes the size of a baby? But I find it allows me to take pause and really think about our baby’s growth.  I distinctly remember week 6 when I ate a bowl of lentil soup and thought to myself what a miracle it is that something so small would eventually become a person – OUR person!  I recently learned that when the baby is born it will be the size of a small pumpkin. I can guarantee that I will not be eating one of those.

We had an appointment with our doctor last week and we were able to hear our little Duck’s heartbeat – a strong & proud 142 beats/minute!  Our next appointment will be at 20 weeks (mid-February) and we’ll be given an ultrasound. This means more pictures of Baby P are soon to arrive!  

Lately it has sometimes felt as though we are in “limbo.”  We’re waiting for my tummy to look like a pregnant tummy (instead of just looking like I ate a huge lunch). We’re excited to start feeling the baby wiggle & squirm. Every pregnancy is different, so I’m trying not to pay too much attention to all the books/blogs that say when we should start experiencing those things … but from what our moms tell us, everything will feel much more “real” when those moments finally sneak-up on us! 

I recently asked Jonny if he thinks about the baby a lot and he said, “Yes! I hope it is healthy. And happy. And I want to hear it laugh.”  Jonny, my love, I am so lucky to have married you.   

Kristie  

PICKLES

People have been asking me if I’m eating lots of pickles.  

And my answer has been “ickk … no!”

Which is weird because …

I liked pickles before becoming a mom-to-be.

I loved them, in fact.  

But for the past 15 weeks, pickles have not sounded good.

At all.

Unless they were on a burger.

But today pickles sounded TASTY.

Tastier than pickles have ever sounded to me before.

So I had some.

With a side of Lentil soup.

And some goldfish crackers.

I guess this is what they call “cravings?”

GIFTS

The final days of 2012 taught us that Christmas definitely comes more than once a year. In our case, it came every day for 3 weeks! Jonny definitely spoiled me (and our duck) with presents; one of my favorite being a pair of headphones that will fit around my growing belly. After seeing Baby P's fist-pumping skills in our last ultrasound, it is only fair that we provide the bambino with some music to dance to! Of course, the best gift of all was finally sharing our news with family + friends. We were fortunate to be with Jonny’s family in Virginia and Pennsylvania over the holiday and to be the recipients of so many hugs (and a tackle, in the case of Sean). We also shared many tears, smiles, & laughs via phone & Facebook with family and friends across the miles. The holiday consumed us with so much appreciation and the realization that we have a huge “village” of loved ones who are going to make this baby one of the luckiest in the world!

Sean's reaction to the news that he'll be an Uncle! 

New Year's Eve 2012

We returned to Indianapolis and hosted a New Year’s Eve party with our friends, all of whom are celebrating big moments in their lives:  pregnancies, engagements, new jobs, birthdays, vacations, first Christmases as married couples, etc. Once midnight struck, we opened the door wide to let in the New Year – welcoming new adventures in 2013!  

This past week, I was in L.A. for work. P&G owns the People’s Choice Awards property and I was fortunate to be invited to attend with an awesome crew of co-workers. I was also invited to bring a guest, so naturally I invited the woman who taught me my “red carpet” manners --- my mom!   We channeled our inner celebrity and got all gussied up for the occasion, which was nothing less than a 5-star event that made me very proud to work for such a purpose-inspired company. 

Mom + Me at People's Choice Awards 

Walking the red carpet (literally)! 

 After a star-studded trip to L.A., I flew up to San Francisco to spend the weekend with my parents & kork-a-bunga (Korey). Though the physical distance between us is far, we are so very close. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel blessed to have a family who understands that “home is where your heart is.”   One night, my mom and I went on a maternity shopping spree and had such a blast!  The dressing rooms have these little faux bellies that you can Velcro around your back, which allows you to see what the clothes might look like with a baby bump.  I have been feeling a little anxious about my body changing and I was nervous to wear the Velcro belly, but it was actually really fun!! We were laughing so hard when I bent over to take off a pair of jeans because I couldn’t reach down to my toes – the belly was really in my way!!  The next few months are going to bring lots of changes (ones that I don’t even realize)!

I still can’t believe how quickly time is passing – I’m officially in my second trimester and it’s already time for another doctor’s appointment this week!  

GORGONZOLA

We declared last Saturday “date day” - dedicated to finishing Christmas shopping, making our 9th annual trip to the Festival of Lights at the Zoo, and spending a night downtown at the Conrad Hotel.

Of all the fun we had that day, the highlight was definitely our lunch (***insert “hungry pregnant lady joke” here***).  It was a rainy day, so we went to a cafe called Petite Chou that has the most delicious tomato-artichoke soup.  But the lunch was not a highlight because of the soup - it was because of our waitress who so nicely informed me that I could have gorgonzola cheese on my salad J

As I have quickly learned over the past few weeks, there are lots of foods that are recommended to avoid while pregnant – soft cheeses being one. To note, whoever made that rule is public enemy #1 of pregnant women everywhere... but I digress.  So, when I ordered an iced tea (in lieu of my beloved sauvignon blanc) and asked for my salad to be served without gorgonzola, the waitress almost knowingly said, “our cheeses are local and pasteurized, if that is a concern for you.” I wanted to hug her - but instead chose a more tactful approach of gushing over how much I appreciated her help.  She politely smiled and went on to express words of congratulations.  It was such a kind approach: non-invasive, sweetly assuming, and so celebratory.  

I have been thinking about our waitress ever since that lunch and I find myself hoping that I can deliver a similar sense of grace when I meet other moms-to-be.  Of course, if I ever need a lesson or reminder, I know where to find my favorite waitress on the planet ... and that gorgonzola cheese.