24 Weeks!

How far along? 24 weeks

Total weight gain: Still not sure, but I do know that I weigh more now than I have ever weighed in my life! 

Maternity clothes? Oh yeah! My wonderful sister-in-law is letting me use a bunch of her maternity clothes- she told me she didn't have that many and then we went through them together and she had a bunch! It was like Christmas all over again :) 

Stretch marks? I thought I found a couple yesterday but wasn't totally sure. The marks were actually fabric prints on my skin from my shirt that just took a really long time to go away. So no stretch marks and I'm still lotion-ing a ton to try to keep them away (even though I heard that doesn't really help haha). 

Sleep: It's been good since I've been on winter break! I can go to bed when I want and sleep as long as I want, which helps when I have nights where I wake up every couple hours from rolling onto my belly or having to pee. 

Best moment this week: I still have a little Christmas energy buzz :) Other than that, I painted the nursery grey, had a doctor appointment, and had a skype Christmas party with Dan's side of the family. I saw a nurse practitioner this time, and she wants to check with my doctor just to be sure, but she thinks my placenta has moved enough (or that it will) so it won't be considered a low-lying placenta anymore! It's been a good week so far! 

Miss Anything? My belly is starting to slow me down just a little bit- I can't get up as quickly and can't be on the go for as long. I do a lot of changing positions/moving around while I teach, so it will be interesting to see how that goes once school starts again! 
Movement: I could lay in bed with my hands on my tummy or watching my belly move around for hours! She's not even that big yet and she's making my belly do weird things :) 

Food cravings: Donuts and custard :) 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Still cigarette smoke smell- yuck! And bacon sounds little more appealing, but I'm not ready to test making it quite yet. 

Gender: She's a girl! 

Labor Signs: I hope I have no signs anytime before I'm supposed to.  

Belly Button in or out? Mostly in. It gets more flat depending on where the baby is hanging out. The top half of it is pretty much always flat. It's kind of weird haha!

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy for the most part! 

Looking forward to: New Years Eve with friends tonight! I have to go get ready now :) 

Happy New Year! 

Christmas!

Christmas Eve:

My mom, siblings, Aunty Kathy and Uncle Pete, and I went to visit my Grandpa. He's looking good! My sibs and I went on a tarantula run (more on that later) and then I stopped back home to pick up Dan before heading back to my parents' house. We had dinner, opened gifts (each year, instead of getting gifts for everyone we swap names) and watched a Muppet Christmas Carol. 

Everyone was back! All five of us haven't been together since August! 

We got my dad a Kindle Fire :) 

Meagan, Molly, and I noticed we were all wearing the same color, so of course we had to take a sister picture.

We surprise-visited Grandpa in his new assisted living center.
He was super excited to see us! He read us a poem about a mouse that drank some guinness, jokingly named my baby Melvina, and told us about how he has "sugar-diabeetus" (which of course we joked about for the rest of the day). 

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We got my  mom a tarantula for Christmas!
She loves it and named her Daisy. 

I'm not totally sure why, but we got sister nightgowns from my mom :)
We wore them while we watched a Muppet Christmas Carol and ate cookies. It was perfect. 

Christmas Day:

We went back over to my mom and dad's for a good breakfast that included black pudding (the sausage, not chocolate pudding), dipping eggs, bacon, and corned beef hash- so lots of meat haha. We have a tradition of seeing a movie as a family on Christmas. This year, the guys and girls split up- I don't remember what the boys saw, but they got to sit in a newly remodeled theater with fancy chairs. The girls saw Annie- and it was so good! After the movie, Dan and I went to his mom's house for Mass, dinner, and family time!

My mom also made all of us new 'weasley sweaters". I haven't read Harry Potter and I've only watch a few of the movies, but I'm glad we got these sweaters! Everyone can use a good monogrammed sweater :)  

Check out my handsome man in his new sweater :) 

The next few days:

Meagan and my mom came over to help me clean out our second bedroom/soon-to-be-nursery! They did most of the work, which was wonderful! Aside from a crib and some random baby supplies, it's all cleaned out and ready to be painted!

Molly and Meagan came over for dinner and a movie. Molly is Nella's new best friend- Nella knows she's not allowed on the couch, so if she keeps two feet on the floor it doesn't count :) She half curled up on Molly's lap and fell asleep for the movie!  It was super cute.

Dan, Meagan, and I went to my favorite Hmong market and finally braved the hot food line! Usually we just stick to spring rolls, but this time we got some chicken curry soup, sticky rice, and some egg rolls. I couldn't leave without getting some spring rolls too. Meg and I both stocked up on those and tried a bean bun. . . it was interesting.

On Saturday, Dan and I went to a 50th anniversary party for his aunt and uncle. At dinner, they projected their wedding video and it was so cool to see! There were also lots of toasts and songs and it was a good evening :)

Sunday was a soup day. Dan made a delish turkey and wild rice soup while I worked on painting the nursery. We went to my mom and dad's house for the packer game and then my mom, dad, brother, and I went to a graduation party for a friend.

I made french toast with a dulce de leche type sauce and banana slices for breakfast. It was very sweet and very delicious. 

I though pomegranate season was closer to Thanksgiving time, but the pomegranates I've had in the past few days have been very, very tasty! 

Bean bun. Mine was red in the middle, Meagan's was green. 

I started painting the baby's room! 

Poor Nella broke a nail :( It looked really sore and she started limping a little after a play session.  After some googling to see what I could do to help her feel better, I soaked her little paw in epsom salt, put a little neosporin on the nail, and covered it with a sock. Hopefully her nail gets better soon! 

Tonight Dan, one of his sisters, and I are going over to another sister and brother-in-law's house to do his side of the family's gift exchange. The rest of Dan's siblings, their significant others :), and his mom are in cincinnati visiting Elizabeth and Greg since they couldn't come home for Christmas. We'll have a skype party as we open presents!


It was another good Christmas! Now onto the new year :)

23 Weeks!

Just a little mirror selfie in a soon-to-be-organized baby room! 

How far along? 23 weeks and 2 days today

Total weight gain: Not really sure. . . it's pretty much all in the area so far! 

Maternity clothes? So comfortable! I think everyone should invest in maternity pants for the holiday season- The stretch is great for excessive amounts of Christmas cookies :) 

Stretch marks? Not yet! 

Sleep: Dan was talking about "Sesame" in his sleep a couple nights ago. . . I think he meant Sesame Street- maybe he's been having weird baby dreams like I have too! Other than weird dreams, sleep is just a little uncomfortable sometimes- I wake up in twisted in weird positions that hurt my back. It's good while I'm actually sleeping though! 

Best moment this week: Christmas! I'll update on that once all of the Christmas celebrations are over :) 

Miss Anything? Tummy sleeping and having all of my energy! I can't be totally on the go anymore! 
Movement: I feel her more and more all the time and I love it! When I lay still, I can see my belly moving around  and it's really cool to me :) 

Food cravings: Still donuts and custard! I can't get enough!   

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Same here too. . . 

Gender: She's a girl! 

Labor Signs: I hope I have no signs anytime before I'm supposed to.  

Belly Button in or out? Mostly in. The top half of my belly button is starting to look a little more flat these days though. 

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Generally happy still! 

Looking forward to: Having another week off! This week was busy, relaxing, and productive and I'm ready for another week like that! 

Weekend Goodness

Dan and Nella went hunting this weekend. Maggie and I had a nice, calm weekend without them. We watched Christmas movies on Netflix and ate snacks together :) 

I met Sarah, Steph, and Alli for drinks on Friday night. The four of us haven't been together in way too long! Although I didn't get a picture of us, I did get a picture of the bag of cookies I snuck into the bar for little snack. 

I took my mom to my new favorite Hmong market.
She loves spring rolls now too :) 

I think George put on a few pounds. He is HUGE!
He comes when I call him. . . I haven't seen him in a while and when he ran over by me, I couldn't help but laugh! He looks like an orange raccoon now! 

Dan and Nella came home a couple of hours ago. Maggie and Nella were so happy to be back together! (And I was happy to have Dan home too!) 

I was out and about finishing up some Christmas shopping and then wrapping presents today. I can't believe that Christmas is in a few days!

Things Kids Said on a Friday

I had a class holiday party for a family event on Friday. The kids were so cute! They normally have to wear uniforms, but since they don't have school on Fridays and this was an optional event, they could wear whatever they wanted. . . which meant festive Christmas dresses, santa outfits, and adorable sweaters. 

The main event of the party was cookie decorating. I planned on making sugar cookies in a variety of shapes for the kids to decorate. Due to an oven malfunction, that did not happen. I now have a large batch of sugar cookie dough in my fridge (not a terrible problem to have. . .).  I made a grocery store run early in the morning before school started hoping to find some plain sugar cookies.  They didn't have any :/ Luckily, the bakery had a couple boxes of yet-to-be-decorated gingerbread cookies! These worked out perfectly and the kids had lots of fun (and spent lots of time) decorating them :) 

So much playdough! 

I made little gift bags for each of my students. Each bag had some homemade peppermint scented playdough, a packet of hot chocolate mix, a bag of microwave popcorn, and a little card game. They were excited to get them :) 

Onto the things said and overheard at the party. . .



"Mrs. McElwee! Do you know that Santa is always watching you? He sees you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake."
"He knows if you've been good or bad."
"So be good be goodness sake!"


A couple kids were looking at a book and I asked if they knew what animal was on the page. One of them shouted "It's a beast-er!"  (It was a picture of a beaver)


"Ms. McElwee- this present is for you! It's a coffee gift card and some candy. But it's a surprise, so don't open it until Christmas."



"Do you have a cat and a dog? Do they fight a lot? Cuz my brother and sister do."



"Guess what? I get to go to the mall tonight and see Santa!"



"Sometimes Christmas parties scare me. I don't like when Santa comes into the room."



One of the parents asked her kids what she wanted for Christmas and the kid said she wanted a pink striped fan. . . the mom has no idea what she means. Haha!



"My dad's a pain in the butt!"  Why?  "Cuz he's a pain in the butt! That's just what my mom says sometimes!"



"Miss McElwee? Why are you eating that cookie? Is it cuz your baby wants a cookie? Does your baby like carrots too? You need to be healthy!"



And hearing little kids who can't pronounce the "R" sound very well yet say, "Merry Christmas!" is always adorable :)


Happy winter break!

22 Weeks!

How far along? 22 weeks

Total weight gain: I still don't really know!  

Maternity clothes? They are a staple these days. A bunch of my shirts at too short to wear due to my belly and I can zip/button one pair of pants, but they are uncomfortable if I do. . . so I don't :) I can wear most of my dresses if I belt them, which is good! 

Stretch marks? None to be seen so far! 

Sleep: I rolled onto my belly last night and woke up as soon as I did it- definitely not a comfortable way for me to sleep any more! Other than waking up about once a night for a water and bathroom break, it's not too bad! 

Best moment this week: Overall, it was a pretty mellow week- which I know is not really a moment, but mellow is so good sometimes. 

Miss Anything? Sleeping on my tummy. 
Movement: Lots of random kicks, punches, and wiggles. Little baby McElwee also likes to curl up into a hard (slightly uncomfortable) ball near one side of my uterus. 

Food cravings: Custard. Donuts. Still the same!   

Anything making you queasy or sick: Also still the same things- cooking bacon and cigarette smoke 

Gender: She's a girl! 

Labor Signs: I hope I have no signs anytime before I'm supposed to.  

Belly Button in or out? In. . . but not as in as it used to be!  

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm happy most of the time- an occasional touching commercial or someone driving slowly in the fast lane can cause a few tears :) 

Looking forward to: Break. . . only two more days with kids, one work day, and I'm off for two weeks! Woohoo!! 

Weekend Goodness

My phone has been acting weird lately and I need to get new batteries for my camera, so I didn't take very many pictures on it this weekend. This weekend had a nice balance to it- a little bit relaxing and a little bit busy. 

On Saturday, Dan and I went to a bookstore in our neighborhood to get gifts for our nieces' baptism. Dan's mom happened to be there doing the exact same thing when we got there :) The owner is also a family friend, so we chatted with all of them and looked at books- definitely a good way to spend a morning. And when we left, we were sent on our way with a giant donut. Perfect. 

I didn't get any pictures at the baptism or baptismal party except for this. There was a giant mirror near the bathroom in the church and I decided to get a picture of my bump :) Here it is at 21 weeks and 3 days.

The baptism went well- the babies only cried for a second when the holy water was poured on their heads but were happy and smiley pretty much the entire evening after that. They are getting so big and still just as adorable! 

I know this is blurry. This is also how Dan watched the Packer game (luckily, you can't hear the yelling that was happening! Haha)!

Only 5 more days of school and then it's winter break! Hopefully the kids aren't too wild this week :) Now I have to get some freshly made bread out the the bread maker (mmmm) and get ready for tomorrow.

Things Kids Said on a Thursday

"Ms. McElwee. Did you know you're not supposed to drink beer with a baby in your belly?"  I did, but thanks for making sure I'm being safe!



girl 1: I wanna be Elsa
girl 2: Don't you already have her dress?
girl 1: Yeah, but I wanna be her.



When I was picking up one of my classes, a kid said, "Hi Ms. McElwee!" and then kissed my belly and said, "Hi baby!"



A girl in my morning class said, "We should name your baby today!" and then a burst of name suggestions came:  
-Luna
-Octagon
-Avery because my babysitter is named Avery and she's a girl
-Penelope
-Miss McElwee becuase you are Mrs. McElwee and your married to Mr. McElwee and your baby would be sad if she didn't match
-Sprinkles
-the letter "K"
-Emma because my neighbor had a baby and it was a girl and she named her Emma
Thanks for the ideas, but I think Mr. McElwee wants to help name the baby too. I'll tell him all of your ideas.



During calendar time: "Excuse me. Excuse me! Excuusssee meeeee!!!" I ignored the excuse mes- this kid is working on not blurting out during group times. Finally, he raised his hand. I called on him and he said, "Did you know that spiders can bite and the bites itch but worms can't bite you? I don't like spiders but I do like worms."



We were reading a book about living things vs. nonliving things and how living things need food, they can grow, and they can make more of their own kind. A girl raised her hand and said, "Is it true that is an animal lives inside your house it can't die?" Then we had about a 10 minute class conversation about dying- my hospice-social-working sister would be proud :)



"Ms. McElwee- I'm gonna ask my granny if I can come to your house this Saturday, okay?"   Maybe some day you can visit my house, but I live kind of far from school and I have lots of plans on Saturday, so ask your granny another time :)

21 Weeks!

How far along? 21 weeks

Total weight gain: I'm not 100% sure what I weighed pre-pregnancy, but I think I'm up about 10 lbs so far. 

Maternity clothes? I really would like to be able to wear leggings as pants everyday. The 4K-ers wouldn't mind, but my principal probably would :) 

Stretch marks? Still nothing so far. Everything I've read said there's basically nothing I can do to prevent them and they are probably genetic. I put coconut oil or lotion on my belly pretty much just in case. . . it also feels good to be moisturized since it's been so dry lately! 

Sleep: It's been getting slightly more uncomfortable. I can't really sleep on my tummy at all but still attempt a weird side/tummy thing sometimes. . . we'll see how long that lasts. I've also been having super weird and/or vivid dreams more often.  A couple nights ago I had a dream that I had a weird baby with a mermaid syndrome. Her legs were kind of fused together and she had fin-like feet. She needed lots of therapy and it was just a weird dream. Haha! 

Best moment this week: The anatomy ultrasound :) Finding out we're having a girl and getting to see her was awesome. 

Miss Anything? Energy. I've mentioned before how I like to be on the go- I'm typically someone who wakes up, start my day, and I don't really stop until I go to bed. Well now, I get up and would like to take a nap around 1:00 and then want to lay on the couch when I get home from school. Dan loves it because he is not an on-the-go type of person. 
Movement: Yep! I feel kicks, punches, and other body parts wiggling around in there! If I'm laying down, being very still, and paying attention, I can feel the big movements on the outside!

Food cravings: Custard. Donuts. The usual. . .   

Anything making you queasy or sick: Same thing- cooking bacon and cigarette smoke 

Gender: Ok, so I just want to be technical for a second. Gender is something that a person chooses/feels about himself/herself/themselves (you get it). Sex is what you can see anatomy/organ-wise. So we found out that the sex of our baby is a girl! :) 

Labor Signs: I hope I have no signs anytime before I'm supposed to.  

Belly Button in or out? Innie still.  

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: I've been happy lately! Sometimes I get so happy that I want to cry (ok, so that might count as moodiness. . .)

Looking forward to: Christmas break! I have a day and a half left this week, then school all next week- then it's two weeks off! 

Weekend Goodness

We had another busy weekend. . .

Dan and I registered for baby things! We went to BuyBuy Baby where Dan had fun scanning to his hearts desire :) and we registered for some things on Amazon too. I was really excited to register for things but I wasn't sure how much fun Dan would have registering. He really liked it! 

I've been on a cereal kick lately.
And a Serial kick too.
If you haven't been listening to the Serial podcasts by This American Life, I definitely recommend them! 

We took Maggie and Nella to the dog park Sunday morning. They always have so much fun running around and playing with the other dogs :) 

After the dog park, we went to get our Christmas tree! While we were searching through the trees, we found a perfect little bird's nest on a branch. 

Chrysanthemum's new favorite toy is the Christmas tree and it's decorations. She has been occupied batting at ornaments, biting needles, drinking from the tree stand, and snuggling on the tree skirt all afternoon/evening long! 

And Baby McElwee is A. . . .

Before the official results, I decided to check out some old wive's tales to see what they predict. . .



Is the bump expanding out like a basketball (boy) or sideways like a watermelon (girl):  Boy

How's your skin? More blemishes equal a girl:  Girl

Dry hands and cold feet mean it's a boy:  Well, my feet tend to be cold and the winter weather is drying out my skin, but if I go with this tale, it would be a Boy

Craving sweets means it's a girl and craving salty snacks means it's a boy:  Girl

According to the Chinese gender chart (which is a year and month based thing) I'm having a: Boy

Based on a Mayan chart (if age at conception and year are both even or odd, it's a girl. If one is even and one is odd, it's a boy), I'm having a: Boy

If your spouse gains sympathy weight, it's a girl: It could be that we just had Thanksgiving, or maybe it is sympathy weight, but this would go to Girl

Morning sickness means it's a girl:  Girl

Is the bump high (girl) or low (boy): Girl

Heart rate about 140= girl, below= boy: 159, so Girl

Sleeping on the right (girl) or left (boy): Boy

Hair growth on legs- faster = girl, slower = boy: no change. . .



That's 5 for Boy and 6 for Girl. . .  so pretty close to 50/50 with a slight lean towards girl.



So I had the anatomy scan today, which was pretty cool. . . we got to see the heart pumping, the aorta, the bladder, arm, leg, feet, and hand bones, a brain/skull view, and lots of swallowing, sucking, and kicking around. One of the best things was when we could see the baby's legs moving around and I could feel kicks at the same time. Watching the little one move as I felt it was a really cool thing.

Right when we got in the room, the ultrasound tech asked us if we wanted to know the gender and said that although she can't tell us 100%, she wouldn't guess. If she wasn't certain, she wouldn't tell us, and that she would check several times. Right away, she said "I think I know what you're having. . . but I want baby to move it's legs just a little bit" About half way through the scan, she showed us an image and pointed out the legs and them pointed out three little white lines. Dan started to ask what that meant and I said, "You were right!" and the tech said,



It's a girl!




Her measurements are right on track and fluid levels around her are just how they should be. I do have to get another ultrasound at my next appointment because my placenta is right next to my cervix. If it doesn't move, then I would have to have a c-section. My doctor said usually it moves, but it's something they need to keep track of just incase. I'd prefer not to have a c-section, but I guess I would rather know in advance if I have to have one than have have major bleeding and an emergency one. Right now, I'm just so excited to be able to think of the baby as either a he or a she. . . now I can refer to her as she! :) that I'm not stressing about placenta placement.



I told my afternoon class today that I was having a baby and it's a girl. Their responses were awesome:


-Did you bring pictures of her? (I had ultrasound pics with me, so I showed them those- we have a feet picture that they loved)

- When is it gonna be her birthday? Will it be soon? Like next week? Or next year? Maybe when the snow melts. But some snow already melted. . .

-When she's born, are you gonna have her birthday party at Jump America?

-When she turns five, can she come to school with us?

-Is she borned yet?

-Is she at your house or in your belly still?

-Is she gonna be a boy baby or a girl baby when she gets born?

- I'm gonna buy her a teddy bear!

-Will she get bigger before she's born?


And my favorite . . . .
-Were you hungry so you just ate a baby?  . . . is that why your belly is big?

20 Weeks!

How far along? 20 weeks

Total weight gain: Not sure! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I'll find out how much I weight then. 

Maternity clothes? More and more! I pretty much wear the selection of maternity t-shirts and tank tops I have with sweaters or dresses with leggings. I wish I could wear leggings or stretchy pants and hoodies to work, but that would not be very professional :) 

Stretch marks? So far there haven't been any- we shall see what happens though. 

Sleep: I've been getting so thirsty in the middle of the night lately! It wakes me up. I can't get enough water. Other than that (and not being able to fall asleep on my tummy), sleep is pretty good!

Best moment this week: Thanksgiving :) It seems like it was so long ago already! 

Miss Anything? Fitting into my regular pants comfortably. . . I still use the belly band to wear my regular pants, but it isn't super comfy that way. 
Movement: More and more each day! I've noticed it a couple times while I've been doing school things too. 

Food cravings: Still donuts and custard! Dan and I went on a donut run this weekend- Cranky Al's has such delish donuts!  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Also still bacon cooking and cigarette smoke

Gender: We find out tomorrow! (As long as the baby cooperates)  My little one who got shot in the head called me a few days ago and said she thinks I'm having a girl. Another one of my students was talking to my tummy (I haven't told them I'm pregnant yet) and said something about how she hopes she's getting a girl so she can give her clothes and toys. A teacher at school thinks I'm having a boy because I'm "only gaining weight in my belly". I still don't have a prediction of my own! 

Labor Signs: I hope I have no signs anytime before I'm supposed to.  

Belly Button in or out? Innie. 

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy with moments of moodiness here and there. Especially if my house isn't clean. . . 

Looking forward to: The anatomy scan tomorrow! Hopefully baby is developing the way she/he should and all is well!