How far along? 21 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: +5lbs

Maternity clothes? not quite, but getting to the point where bigger clothes will be necessary

Stretch marks? no

Sleep: crummy as ever; the storms haven’t helped

Best moment this week: nothing exciting this week

Movement: ALL THE TIME!

Food cravings: yesterday I HAD to have a Fun-Size Snickers, but other than that no cravings.

Gender: boy

Labor Signs: n/a

Belly Button in or out? in

What I miss: buying jeans in a size 26 and the La Fantasia from Castello di Amorosa

What I am looking forward to: mini-vacation in San Francisco next month with Tim

Weekly Wisdom: nothing to offer you this week, folks.

Milestones: too much movement late at night when I want to sleep…not sure if that is a milestone but it sure is annoying!

About You
Age?: 25
Height?: 5’3″
Pre-pregnancy weight?: 116

About The Father
Name?: Timothy Ryan Dickson
Age?: 27
Height?: 6’1 1/2″
Are you still together?: we’ve been together for almost 7 years, married almost 5

About Your Pregnancy
Is this your first pregnancy?: first and likely to be the only
When did you find out you were pregnant?: September 23rd, but I suspected it on my birthday (14th)
Was it planned?: not entirely; we had been talking about kids but hadn’t thought it would happen quite as soon as it did!
What was your first reaction?: I freaked out for about ten minutes, and then I started dealing with it and thinking ahead
Who was with you when you found out?: I was at home alone watching Law & Order!
Who was the first person you told?: Tim
How did your parents react?: they were very excited
How far along are you?: 21 weeks, 2 days
What was your first symptom?: sore boobs and exhaustion
What is your due date?: May 31, 2010
Do you know the sex of the baby?: yes
If so, what is it?: its a boy!
Have you picked out names?: yes, one
If so, what are they?: Marco Amadeus
How much weight have you gained?: 5lbs
Do you have stretch marks?: no
Have you felt the baby move?: yes, Marco moves around ALL THE TIME!
Have you heard the heartbeat?: yes, his heart rate is about 142bpm

About the birth
Will you keep the baby?: DUH
Home or hospital birth?:  St Helena Hospital
Natural or medicated birth?: medicated, I don’t want to make this harder on myself than it is already going to be
Who will be in the delivery room with you?: Tim
Will you breastfeed?: yes
Do you think you’ll need a c-section?: no, all the women in my family have had natural births and been fine, so I don’t expect any complications
Will you cry when you hold the baby for the first time?: I’ll probably already be crying from all the pushing and such anyway
What’s the first thing you might say to him/her?: something sentimental, I’m sure
Would you let someone videotape the birth?: NO.
Who do you think will visit you in the hospital? Parents, siblings, friends… we have lots of family and extended family
Are you excited about the birth, or scared?: Scared, definitely! I am looking forward to actually seeing Marco, but the thought of giving birth freaks me out.

Here’s the thing: I don’t like spending money- HOLD ON! Stop laughing, and let me explain myself. I like having clothes, shoes, books, and sundry other items. However, the only things I am really willing to spend good money on are shoes. I don’t plop down my cash for just ANY pair of shoes, and even the Manolo Blahniks and Christian Louboutins I do own were on sale (Manolos for $200!? Louboutins for $350!? I can’t pass that up!). Other than those beauties, I stick to shoes for under $200, and they are usually under $150.  For all other purchases I wait for big clearance sales, and buy most of my clothes at Target, Forever21, H&M and other inexpensive stores. I also hit up Overstock.com to look for some good deals.

Aside from fashion, I buy books from used book stores whenever I get a chance. As long as all the pages are still in there, and the covers are still relatively attached, I’ll buy it. I hate paying regular prices for books! Reading should not be a luxury! I love spending $20 and walking out with 5 or 6 books. Library sales are a great resource if there aren’t any good used book stores around.

My point: I don’t really like to spend money on things if I can avoid it. While I know that a $15 dress from Forever21 isn’t going to last as long as the $375 dress from Betsey Johnson, sometimes, in a pinch, it works out better for me. Which brings me to my current problem: maternity clothing is ridiculously expensive! All of the cute stuff is priced so high! Why would I spend $150 on a pair of jeans that I can only wear for 4 or 5 more months (especially in light of the fact that right now I still fit into most of my regular jeans)? I’ve looked at the more inexpensive lines, but I find the clothes really look cheap, and the few I’ve tried on fit terribly. To not only save money, but still feel cute, I’ve purchased 3 different pairs of skinny jeans from the juniors department at Nordstrom (two were on sale for under $40!), but I bought them 2 waist sizes bigger than I normally wear. One of them arrived yesterday, and were definitely not going to fit me for the remainder of this pregnancy! I’m waiting for the other two, so I hope that one of them works. They are low-rise jeans, so they’ll fit mostly on my hips, and I can use the Bella band for the last part of the pregnancy.

In other shopping news, the Inn I work at gave all of the employees $100 gift certificates to a wholesale kitchen supply store. Tim and I have needed new knives for awhile. The set we have was a wedding gift, and we only registered for it because it was one of the least expensive blocks (and we didn’t know any better, lol). The knives no longer respond to the sharpener, so its definitely time to upgrade. The wholesaler had this set of Anolon knives for $120! I’m very excited to be able to slice and dice my food instead of sawing through everything with a non-serrated knife!

Lol of the week:

Smooching after dinner on Tuesday

How far along? 20 weeks, 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: +4 ( weight 120lbs)

Maternity clothes? no

Stretch marks? no

Sleep: no change

Best moment this week: Occasionally we can feel Marco moving around on the outside of my tummy

Movement: yes of course

Food cravings: no

Gender: boy

Labor Signs: n/a

Belly Button in or out? in

What I miss: nothing new to miss right now

What I am looking forward to: more movement!

Weekly Wisdom: DO take a babymoon!

Milestones: our babymoon was amazing and lovely, and we are now at the halfway point!

It was hard to leave the paradise that is the Esperanza Resort in Los Cabos, but I am glad to be home with Chloe and Stabler. I missed them so much!

Everything went smoothly and perfectly. Chloe and Stabler were checked on regularly by our friend Shannon, and the house didn’t burn down, flood, or spontaneously explode. The cars were where we left them, and we didn’t lose our luggage. PHEW.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

We collected some beach treasures (coral, shells and such) and are going to put them in a small jar in his room, next to a copy of this picture.

On Monday we have an appointment at the spa. Here’s the description of our treatments:

Pasaje de Agua, Esperanza Exclusive Water Therapy (30 minutes)
Indulge in our unique “Water Passage” which draws upon the tradition of using hot and cold waters, steam, and rest for purifying and rejuvenating the body. Our water therapy experience includes a warm-spring soaking pool, steam caves, and a cool waterfall rinse. Then replenish your body with our selection of Aguas Frescas, indigenous fresh fruit beverages.

Couple’s Cabana Lime Massage (60 minutes)
Amidst the ocean breeze on the edge of the Sea of Cortez, our Cabana Massage serves up the ultimate escape, with a twist of lime. Compresses of lime refresh you from the Baja sun and prepare the body for a most relaxing massage amongst the elements.

I can’t wait!!