Pregnancy - In 2 Lists

I'm now about 22 weeks pregnant - pregnant enough that I've come up with quite a list of things that I LOVE about being pregnant. (And, of course, a bit of a list of things that aren't so much fun...) Read on:

Things I Love:

• Feeling Baby Spud move. It doesn't happen too often yet, but he had the hiccups last week, which made up for all the days when I don't feel him at all. And he especially seems to like his daddy, as he moves a ton anytime Patrick puts his hand on my belly.
• Milkshakes. Strawberry. Yum!
• Baby things. As much as I try not to (for the sake of my bank account), I can't help but love looking at baby things. Strollers, furniture, blankets, clothes, toys - everything!
• Soft baby blankets. Already mentioned above, I know, but worth calling out again for just how impossibly soft those blankets are!
• Stretchy waist maternity pants. Not exactly the most flattering thing ever, but they sure do feel good on my belly. Especially after a late-night milkshake...or 2!
• 25+ names on the baby list. Since we crossed "Patrick" off the name list, there aren't any that Patrick and I feel strongly enough about to disagree on. Of course, we also don't feel strongly enough about any to narrow the list down at all, but that can be done later. Right?
• Baby bump belts at maternity stores. It's so much fun to tie the bump on top of my current 5-month bump and imagine just how big I'll be in a couple more months! I could be frighteningly huge!
• 4 more months. I'm looking forward to the remainder of the pregnancy - getting bigger, setting up the nursery, teaching Patrick to change a diaper...Thank God we still have months to go!

Things I don't so much Love:

• Registry lists. Walk into a Babies R Us and mention you're starting to work on a baby registry and you'll be given a checklist with 100 items on it. 100 items that you must get in order to be a good mother. Right.
• Maternity clothing options. Why must there be so few affordable options that are cute, stylish, and normal??
• Anxiety. Every single day I worry that something might go wrong with the pregnancy. I live for my doctor's appointment each month when I can hear the sound of the heartbeat and be assured and re-assured that everything is going perfectly.
• Pregnancy skin. Dry and prone to break-outs. Every book I read reassures me that it'll go away again once the baby is born. But in the meantime, I'm trying every single bottle of skincare cleanser, lotion, etc. that I can get my hands on. I'm so not used to this!

Halfway There!

Well...I'm now 20 weeks pregnant. The halfway point. Which means I've got only 20 more weeks to go. And still so much to do. I finished cleaning out the baby room today. Actually, I finished starting to clean out the baby room. Next comes the fun part - decorating! My goal is to have the room mostly finished by Christmas. That seems doable, no? I guess it's only doable if I actually start filling the room. Soon....

I went back last week for the second round of anatomy scans. Baby Spud cooperated perfectly, showing his pretty spinal cord and skull the entire time. The technician tried to take another cute baby face picture for me to share with you all, but Spud was adamant in performing his job (as I made sure to remind him all week: just show the nice lady your back, baby, please?).

I've started wearing some of the maternity pants my mom gave me a few weeks ago. They're definitely comfortable (especially after the super-sized steak dinner I had with work last week...with mashed potatoes and vegetables and banana cream pie!), but it seems like I still have a bit of growing to do, as they have a tendency to slip down every time I walk.

My next doctor's appointment is next week and I'm hoping he tells me that Baby is exactly the perfect size, in spite of everyone's reaction of "Are you sure you're pregnant? You don't look pregnant…” Even the ultrasound technician didn't seem convinced until the images popped up on the screen. Time to grow, Spud (just not too big...or we'll have some major issues in about 4 months!)

On a fun note, I went to my first rugby game this past weekend. It was a beautiful fall day - Sunny and 70s! In October! In Minnesota! However, after watching the game - and seeing 2 players go to the hospital with ugly dislocations - I vowed that the sidelines is the closest Spud will ever get to this game.

Baby's First Wedding!

This past weekend we traveled to Huntington, Indiana for Brian Niec's wedding. We got to meet up with many of our college friends, who all live so far away it's just not fair! Especially because they're fun.

Although I was very excited to see old friends, I was also a little nervous going into the weekend, for 2 reasons:

1. We drove. The whole way. Turns out Huntington, Indiana is about 11 hours from my house. Add in the time spent stopping to see relatives and friends in Chicago and you come up with a grand total of nearly 24 hours in a car, in just 3 days. Together. Just the 2 of us. Luckily, I can report that we still actually like each other. But no baby names yet - sorry! (We did, however, cross one name off the list: Patrick Francis Jr. One down, so many more to go...)

2. It was my first sober wedding in many many years.

But all of us - Patrick, Baby Spud, and I - had a great time.

As it turns out, there are several great things about being pregnant at a wedding, despite the fact that I can't drink my favorite beverage of all times - Champagne! I got to indulge in 2 (okay 3) pieces of yummy carrot cake! And no one even gave me a second look. I also got more compliments on how great I look than I ever have in my life. And - best of all - I got to be the person who remembered all the funny parts of the reception. Did you know that watching your drunk friends dance can entertain you for hours? (Especially since they all have the same dance moves as they showed off at college parties 5 years ago!)

It was a lovely wedding and we're glad we made the trip. Even baby got some dancing in! Let's hope he has better moves than his daddy.

Before heading to Indiana, we stopped in Chicago on Friday. We stopped at my cousin's house for a few hours and got to visit with several members of my extended family, including my Grandma! Also there - all 4 of my cousin's daughters. Patrick seemed to be a little overwhelmed for the first 15 minutes, then breathed a huge sigh of relief when he remembered...thank God, we're having a boy!