twenty six down.

Baby BOY DeSalvo - Week 26

How Far Along: 26 weeks today

Total Weight Gain: 20 pounds total

Maternity Clothes: ABSOLUTELY! 

Favorite Moment This Week: I believe my nesting phase/stage has officially begun. We picked our paint colors for the nursery and began de-cluttering the house in order to make room for "baby stuff." I even washed a couple of loads of baby clothes that my Mom found thrifting. Having his little baby hangers hanging in the laundry room seemed to make it so real that in only THREE months we will meet our little man! 

Gender: BOY!

Movement: A lot more, even from last week. We had an assembly at school on Friday and every time music played, he went crazy. Also, as Joe was vacuuming yesterday, the vacuum got caught on something and made a horrific noise...baby boy did NOT like that sound and was going bonkers.

Food Cravings: Nothing new really: pineapple, strawberries, french fries, chicken

 What I miss: Not much, I truly do love being pregnant. However, bending over to pick things up is becoming increasingly more difficult. 

Sleep: No complaints, but I am waking up every few hours to use the restroom. 

What I am looking forward to: Joe, my brother and his wife are going to paint the nursery this weekend! 

Symptoms: Nothing much, I'm still feeling really good. I do crave afternoon naps and bending over to put shoes on, pick up something on the floor or load laundry. 

He sure "popped" out this week.

twenty five and counting.

Baby BOY DeSalvo - Week 25

How Far Along: 25 weeks, 1 day

Total Weight Gain: I choose not to weigh myself at home, only at doctor's appointment. At my last appointment, I had gained twenty pounds since my first prenatal appointment back in October. As our wise Bradley Birth instructor told us, if you're putting good things in your body, don't worry about the weight gain.

Maternity Clothes: Of course. I am getting excited for it to start warming up so I can wear long dresses and skirts all the time.

Favorite Moment This Week: Our doctor's appointment this week was phenomenal. We saw another doctor in the practice and we loved her. Baby is growing right on schedule and so is Momma's belly. I'm measuring right where I should be and we even got to see baby briefly on a bedside ultrasound.

Gender: BOY - Name is yet to be determined

Movement: A LOT! Active times seem to be in the mid morning, around lunch time, after work around 5:00 and again around 9 or 10 at night.  

Food Cravings: Nothing new really, I just want to drink ice water all of the time. 

 What I miss: I'm still loving EVERY aspect of pregnancy, but I do slightly miss sleeping on my back and my belly. But for now, my left side will do.

Sleep: Week nights are the most restless, but for the most part, I am sleeping very soundly.

What I am looking forward to: Painting the nursery and nesting further.

Symptoms: I feel GREAT! Bending over to pick things up is becoming more of a challenge and I've been visiting the chiropractor once a week for tailbone pain.

week 24.

Baby BOY DeSalvo - Week 24

How Far Along: 24 weeks today! 

Total Weight Gain: About the same as last week, but I feel like my belly looks bigger. 

Maternity Clothes: Absolutely! Leggings and dresses are my favorite right now...I'm looking forward to wearing lots of long dresses come Spring. 

Favorite Moment This Week: As mentioned in my last post, Joe and I spent a lot of time inside this week due to the major snow storm that hit last Wednesday evening and on into Thursday. I was out of school on Thursday and Friday, Joe was home all day Thursday, but went into work on Friday afternoon. It was so nice to have an excuse to do nothing but relax. I spent a lot of time watching various shows on Net Flix and feeling baby boy move around like crazy! 

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Someone at school told me that if the baby is moving a lot that means snow is coming...in that case, button down the hatches people! Baby DeSalvo has been kung fu fighting all day! 

Food Cravings: Dark Chocolate, Yogurt, Bananas with Peanut Butter, French Fries, ICE water

What I miss: I don't miss much right now, I am loving pregnancy! 

Sleep: I have still been sleeping pretty well, just getting up 2-3 times to use the restroom or to nudge Joe to stop snoring :)

What I am looking forward to: We have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday afternoon...weather permitting. I always look forward to hearing baby's heartbeat and asking the latest questions on my mind. 

Symptoms: I'm starting to have a bit of pain in my tailbone and in between my shoulders. However, that's not even terrible...

23 in a photo. or two.

most of week 23 was spent looking at this white heaven. the kc area hasn't seen this much snow in a long while and i have to admit that i kind of love it. all 8+ inches of it. amazingly, there's more to come over the next 48 hours. 

due to all of the snow, joe and i haven't left the house very often since last wednesday evening. it's been pretty phenomenal to just relax and have an excuse to do nothing. so, this is why you won't see my face this week. mama was looking pretty shabby the day this photo was taken.

this is the last time i'll be wearing this sweatshirt for a while. not just because they lost last night, but because it barely stretches over my ever growing bump.

twenty three.

Baby BOY DeSalvo - Week 23

How Far Along: 23 weeks today! 

Total Weight Gain: Brace yourself...20+ pounds. I go to the doctor in a week and a half and then I'll know a more official number. Although, as we learned in birthing class, it's not about the weight you gain, but what you're putting in your body that is adding that weight on. I have to admit that for the most part, I am eating very healthy. However, usually, whatever baby craves, baby gets.

Maternity Clothes: YES! I've found that full panel pants are more comfortable than the demi-band. Baby boy is still hanging out pretty low, so anything that puts pressure there is SO uncomfortable.

Favorite Moment This Week: I have a favorite moment daily, but this week's favorite moment was today. Baby boy was moving more than I've felt in one time period. Joe got to feel several distinct kicks and I'm pretty sure that we even saw baby boy flip even though I had a blanket over me. 

Gender: BOY! 

Movement: Lots of movement in the morning, at lunch, afternoon and after dinner. I'm beginning to be able to determine when he is sleeping and when he's awake. I pushed on my belly this week when I was pretty sure that he was asleep and I got a kick in response telling me to leave him be! 

Food Cravings: Green apples, Key Lime water, ICE water, yogurt, Nutella

What I miss: I miss being able to go up the stairs without feeling like I just ran seven miles. In part, this is because we're still trying to get my asthma under control, but I also know it's partly baby. People think I'm crazy for loving pregnancy so much, but I really don't have any complaints! 

Sleep: I've had a cold for about a week now, but since we've been putting eucalyptus essential oil on my pillow at night and in the humidifier, I'm beginning to sleep a lot better. I purchased a Boppy body pillow a few months ago and that has helped tremendously! 

What I am looking forward to: Meeting baby boy, of course, but I am also looking forward to getting baby boy's room finally ready in the next few weeks and taking advantage of this nesting phase and energy! 

Symptoms: Now that I have finally found something to help with the dry, itchy skin, I once again have NO complaints! I am loving the second trimester and energy as well as an excuse to relax whenever I can!  

bows or bow ties?

yesterday was THE big day. almost like a birthday, but we will call it "gender day." 

the ultra sound was phenomenal. it's amazing how much joy you can feel in your heart about looking at kidneys, the four chambers of the heart, femur bones, tiny fingers and tiny toes. let's just say, this little baby is loved so much already...is it possible to love him more?? here HE is...baby BOY desalvo (name to be determined.)

he had his hands over his face most of the time as if to say, leave me alone, i'm trying to sleep in here. he was tucked all together and looked awfully cozy. there were also several yawns and i had a feeling we were interrupting his nap time. this little boy is SO loved and i can't wait to meet him in just four and a half months!

well originally, we had planned to find out and then enjoy the little secret to ourselves for a few days. however, as soon as we laid eyes on our precious baby...we knew, there was no way we would be able to contain our joy and excitement for three whole days. after we got the big news, the tech left for a minute and joe said, "are we really going to keep this a secret" to which i replied, "yeah, i think we can do it." to that, joe up and admitted that he didn't think he would be able to wait. 

after leaving the imaging place, we called our families and asked them to come over later in the evening. we were planning to go out to dinner to celebrate and do some little boy shopping. they would join us later at our house. 

when every one arrived, we had them guess both the gender and what they thought the baby weighed RIGHT now. we had guesses anywhere between 12 ounces (the winner!) and 8 pounds. the gender guesses were three for girl and 6 for boy. i should also add that my class voted at school yesterday and 2/3 of the class said girl and 1/3 said boy. 

then, we passed out an envelope to everyone. at the same time, the envelopes were opened and it was revealed...baby desalvo is a BOY!

 revealing envelopes...

it's a boy!

it was so precious and memorable to see everyone's reactions and i am thankful for technology allowing us to catch that on film. once it was revealed that baby desalvo is a boy, i pulled out our clothing purchases from earlier in the evening for everyone to ooh and ah over. 

it's pretty difficult not to think that these are some of the cutest things on earth. i mean...look at the yellow jeans for pete's sake! 

needless to say, yesterday was one of the best. days. ever. we can't wait to meet our little guy, but i am enjoying every moment of pregnancy and the anticipation of meeting him and imagining what he will look like.

love.

-caitlin

milestone 20.

monday, i will be 20 weeks pregnant. twenty weeks. where has time gone? it seems like just yesterday that i was only 4.5 weeks along!

i have tried to savor every tiny moment of this experience. every little movement i feel. every emotion that comes over me. every day. every hour. every minute.

this picture is from last monday. 19 weeks.

baby cj sure is growing quickly. wednesday, january 30th we go in for our 20 week ultra sound and doctor's appointment. of course, this is the momentous ultra sound where we will find out if baby cj is a boy or a girl. joe and i can't wait. however, you will have to wait until saturday. we've decided to keep a little secret for a few days. a way to savor a bit more time before we reveal it to the world.

next saturday. groundhog day. will phil see his shadow? will phil see a boy or will phil see a girl? only time will tell.