My name is Shawna and I'm addicted

to decorating for fall!!!! I have this problem every year and it begins around halloween and doesn't end until Valentine's Day. I stocked up on a ton of decorations at Marshall's today but cannot possibly keep it all. Help me, let me know which ones are your favorites.

SF Giants with the Heinrich's

Since we've been in California I have yet to step foot into a stadium, the same is certainly NOT true for Dominic. Plus, I owe D tickets from back at our 1yr anniversary and I felt it was high time I paid up. (I think we may actually be caught up with all his late presents since I've also come through with the PS3 in the last month, that was his Christmas present from last year) As fun as it would be to go alone, it's always more fun to go with friends. I've been talking about this great couple I met at work for so long I figured, why not combine the two! We set it up for a Friday game and the meeting with the Heinrich's was on. The game was great, although not a win for the Giants, we did get to see Randy Johnson pitch at that brings back fond memories of the Mariners. Here are a few pictures from the game.

The stadium is just gorgeous, it's perched right along the water and for us ladies that can mean less game watching a more scenery watching, we managed to keep focused most of the time. To sum it up: the night was great, the weather was quite warm and the friends were just delightful.

15 weeks

We are officially, no matter which way you look at it, through the first trimester and we have our Washington apple to show for it! Why now you ask? Well many places will tell you the end of the first trimester is 13 weeks, but does that mean 13 completed weeks or the beginning of the 13th week? Either way we're through and baby G is chugging away steady as can be right now.

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! Fortunately we aren't interested in finding out so I won't be hitting up the sono tech every day at work :)

What's been going on this week?

First let me say that baby up there is really starting to get big, FAST! There is no denying it now because I can actual feel my uterus above my pelvic bone and when I push on it, don't worry G doesn't mind, I can actually feel it in my back. There are no signs of a bump yet...unless I drink a ton and really need to pee. The consensus at work, I figure they've got to be the experts right, is that I'm not going to be showing for a while and that baby G is a boy. Of course this is purely speculation and I'm keeping it that way by opting to do our 20 week sonogram at a different radiology office. I figure, this way nobody can be swayed by the staff to divulge details and it's driving everyone CRAZY!!!

I think we've made a few more decisions about the nursery. After looking at a ton of crib options and shaking the bejesus out of many of them we're going with the Pottery Barn Kendall in white.

I've found a nifty way to make the skirt so that the height can be varied as the mattress is raised or lowered and it always skims the ground, this covering up a handy storage space. We're still undecided on the bumper situation. I like the added color of a traditional one, but the safety aspect of a breathable is tough to pass up. So many decisions and such an uninterested hubby. Don't get me wrong, he cares. He keeps saying he's sure I'll make the right decision...but I don't want to have to research all the decisions...at the same time I really don't have to consult on much this way. If only the naming situation was so easy.

Bump shots:

14 weeks

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

What's new this week?

We had our first official midwife appt with Andrea. Dominic tagged along and everything went pretty smooth. I weighed in at 134 which is still down from my regular 138-140. We listened to little G, who was completely cooperative and was nice and loud. Got to discuss more pregnancy and birth stuff and of course ask questions. All said the appt was about 70min, WAY longer than the 20min I'm given to do an initial visit and that usually includes exams etc. We're on the monthly schedule at this point and everything is looking great.

Belly shots




All those little lines are from my computer sitting on my lap, not sure how much longer that's going to work.

13 weeks

Finally through the first trimester, it took forever and yet flew right by. Currently baby is the size of a juicy peach!I'm amazed at what progress the little one has made so far and what's happening this week: Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce.

What's new this week:

I had my first belly grab attempt, double handed by my male boss in the middle of the hall! In any office but mine this would seem extremely inappropriate, thanks Dr P! I'm half tempted to just give him the blog address and tell him to follow the progress here thank you very much.

We're having our first official appointment with the midwife on Thursday. I've done all my bloodwork and Dominic even did his! I have B- blood type and was hoping that by chance he was negative as well, which would prevent me from having to deal with Rhogam. No such luck, he's A+. Upon hearing this news his response was, well OF COURSE I AM! Nothing less than perfect from him I guess. I also bit the bullet and got my first flu shot of the season which, short of an extremely sore arm, has left me with no ill effects thus far. Up next is the H1N1 when it's out in October.

Symptom wise I think I'm finally starting to feel normal again. I do have to eat regularly still, but I attribute that to the extra 300cal that I need to build this baby and not the morning sickness thing that was so prolific in the early days. Fatigue is actually seeming to improve as well, famous last words I'm sure. Still no bump to report, which I alluded to earlier, and to prove it I'm bringing back the 'first belly shot' from week 4 for comparison:

Here are the shots for this week.

Are you having a boy or a girl?

Will we be finding out the sex of the baby before it's born? Absolutely NOT and this seems to be causing quite the stir. Before you go gasping in shock, especially those that know my type A/planning personality, please remember what I do for a living. I have the privilege to attend many wonderful births and I know for a fact that the ones where the parents DO NOT KNOW what they're having are, in general, so much more exciting and emotional....dare I say they are BETTER births. There is just something about finding out after all that hard work that makes it more appealing to me. Certainly, I would love to be able to pick only one name instead of having to agree on 2, especially when we can't even pick one at this point, or buy a few gender specific clothing items but I'll get over it and the wait will be worth it.

In the mean time I've had a little fun with the internet prediction sites, who seem to be 50/50 so far. First up is the traditional chinese gender chart, apparently 90% accurate, which predicts a BOY

and then there is this gender prediction website which seems to use Rh status, date of conception, and parents age. and predicts a GIRL with 69% accuracy

Well folks...what do you think, boy or girl?

12 weeks

Our baby is the size of a PLUM this week (for the record that might not seem too big but my bladder will contest it still manages to get in the way!)

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long and weighs half an ounce.

Big news for this week includes deciding on a stroller, the Uppababy Vista

And getting to work on the nursery, here's what we have so far it's just the basics

Nusery by shawnamj on Polyvore.com

and our quick trip to San Fran to see Ryan, Mora, Trent and Megan. We visited the Golden Gate Bridge and even walked on it (our first time doing that)

We had Irish coffee, well really I had a sip and everyone else had one or two, from The Buena Vista Cafe. you can read the story of the recipe if you follow the link. The guy making the coffees was just lining them up and making 10 or so at a time....CONTINUOUSLY! They were small but certainly powerful.

Dinner was fantastic. We ate at Betelnut, an asian restaurant, everything is served family style and since we had so many people we got to try a bunch of different dishes. My fav was the
chili crusted calamari and Dominic's was the glazed pork short ribs with thai basil & garlic. Delish. Of course the day wouldn't have been complete without our new favorite sweet, cream puffs from Pacific Puffs

Belly shots for the week...is there a little bloat?