23 Weeks

How far along? 23 weeks

Total weight gain: About 20 lbs. Yikes!! The Hubs keeps saying, “Honey, you’re pregnant. You’re supposed to gain weight.” Well,  duh! But it’s always a shock to see such big numbers on the scale!

How big is baby? About the size of a very large grapefruit.   

The Bump: The bump is blowing up! I’m starting to get that Violet Beauregarde feeling…minus the blueberries.

Maternity clothes? Some maternity and some regular clothes. I’ve got the most comfortable pair of skinny jeans from Old Navy Maternity. I’ve got to get my hands on another pair!  

Stretch marks? Not yet. I think the belly button marks last week were just a false alarm.

Sleep? Sleeping well, thanks to the cool Georgia air on our vacation, but still getting up once or twice for potty breaks and midnight snacks.  

Best moment this week? So many good things this week! Seeing Kara at her shower, having lunch with Allison and her boys in Atlanta…Just being on vacay with the Hubs is wonderful!  He was also able to feel Baby Tuna kick (or punch) earlier this week, but I think it freaked him out a little. She hasn’t really made any movements strong enough for him to feel since.

How are you feeling? Just some round ligament discomfort and my lower back is starting to bother me a bit.

Miss anything? I’m not much of a drinker, but I have to admit it was difficult passing on the champagne at Kara’s bridal shower.  

Movement? Lots of movement all day long, but nothing strong enough for the Hubs to feel yet.

Food cravings? Not much in the way of cravings, but I am looking forward to making s'mores later. 

Aversions?  Nothing new this week.

Anything make you queasy or sick? Not really.

Gender: IT’S A GIRL!!!

Any names picked out? We have a first name picked out, still working on the middle name. (Nice try Kara, but it’s staying a secret! ;o)

Labor signs? No

Belly button in or out? Still an inny, but it’s looking kind of weird.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood?  I’m one happy camper!  

Looking forward to: The rest of our vacation in Ellijay. The weather up here is perfect (highs in the 50’s), even if we did miss the peak of the color change. And thanks to Superstorm Sandy, much of the color that was left blew off in the strong winds we've had the last few days. Taking lots of pictures, seeing so many deer near the cabin, and enjoying evenings by the fire. We are heading up to Blue Ridge tomorrow, so I'll probably be posting again before we head back to Florida with some of our photos.


Since we aren't at home for the holiday, we keep forgetting that today is Halloween. It stinks that we are missing one of our favorite days, not to mention all of that candy! We definitely can't wait until next year when we will get to dress up the Baby Tuna in some super cute costume, and thanks to Auntie Allison for the adorable Halloween outfit!

Hope everyone has a safe and exciting Halloween!! 

22 Weeks

How far along? 22 weeks

Total weight gain: About 14-15 lbs.

How big is baby? According to the doctor today, Baby Tuna weighs one pound and 5 ounces. She’s also very long (much to everyone’s surprise, I’m sure!) and is in the 64^th percentile for growth.  

The Bump: Bigger and bigger all the time!

Maternity clothes? Some maternity and some regular clothes…wondering what I will wear to the bridal shower this weekend.  I also just got some light sweaters for our trip to Georgia, but one is huge! I’m sure I’ll be happy to have it in another month since they have predicted a colder than normal winter for Florida.

Stretch marks? None really, but I think I see some developing around my belly button. They're pretty faint, so they could just be my imagination though.

Sleep? Having a hard time staying comfortable. This sleeping on your side business is for the birds!  And I’ve been waking up at 6am thanks to a seriously empty stomach.

Best moment this week? Putting the crib together, even though the nursery is only half-way cleared out. Also, getting a great report from the genetic specialist was pretty wonderful too!

How are you feeling? Some round ligament pain as Baby Tuna grows, but overall feeling pretty good.

Miss anything? Spicy tuna salad from Thai Thai! We were watching an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives the other night where he featured a Poke place in Hawaii. Since then I can’t stop thinking about it!

Movement? I hadn’t felt much of anything until today. She was really movin’ and groovin’ in there during the ultrasound. 

Food cravings? Nutella, Honey Nut Cheerios, egg salad sandwiches, and Jello pudding

Aversions?  Nothing new this week.

Anything make you queasy or sick? Not really.

Gender: IT’S A GIRL!!!

Any names picked out? We have a first name picked out, still working on the middle name.

Labor signs? No

Belly button in or out? Still an inny. Even though it doesn’t appear to be getting any shallower, it isn’t as big around as it used to be.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood?  Happy as a clam!

Looking forward to: Kara’s bridal shower (I haven't seen her in forever!!), the Florida-Georgia game (Go Gators!!), and our trip to Ellijay…hoping to see lots of fall color in those trees!  

Today, we had our final appointment at the genetic specialist’s office. We had another ultrasound that pretty much amounted to another anatomy scan, but he spent a lot of time checking out her heart. According to the doctor, everything checks out and looks great. We got to see her little heart flutter and pump from every conceivable angle, mostly because Baby Tuna was squirming and dancing all over the place! When we started the ultrasound, she was facing my back, but by the end, she had flipped around and was facing out. 

Love that little overbite!

Put up your dukes! 

This weekend, the Hubs and I are headed north to Ellijay, Georgia for a much-needed vacay.  My parents have a cabin up in the mountains, the perfect place to sit in front of a fire and relax. I'm super excited to be going at this time of year! Not only because the Hubs needs a serious break from work, but also because I've never seen the leaves in all of their fall colors. In my past life as a teacher, I didn't get to travel much in the fall, so this is my big chance...as long as we aren't too late. And the BEST part of the trip will be the weather...highs in the 50s and 60s!!! Doesn't that sound awesome?! Perfect for walks along trails and hot chocolate by the fire. When you live in South Florida and love cold weather like I do, you dream about highs in the 60s! Today in Jupiter, it was 90 degrees. And seriously, right now, it's 80 degrees and it's after 8pm!! It's the end of October!!! Needless to say, I'm pretty jazzed about busting out my boots, scarves, and fuzzy socks for this trip! The Hubs has even requested that we pack the chili pot so I can make the season's first chili dinner! I hope that where ever you may be for Halloween week, you enjoy the weather! 

21 Weeks!

How far along? 21 weeks and 2 days

Total weight gain: Probably about 14-15 lbs? Haven’t weighed myself this week.

How big is baby? About the length of a banana, a really long banana…about 10.5 inches long and somewhere around 12 oz.  

The Bump: Feeling like I have an official preggo belly (why was my non-preg belly never this firm?).  The Hubs came home the other day and commented that I looked super pregnant. Must have had a growth spurt while he was at work. 

Maternity clothes? Gap Maternity t-shirts and non-maternity sweatpants are kind of my jam these days. I've also just purchased some cool weather tops for our trip to north Georgia at the end of the month.

Stretch marks? None yet.

Sleep? Some nights are better than others. Lots of tossing and turning to get and stay comfortable. I end up in the guest room most nights so the Hubs can get a good night's sleep. And it's impossible to sleep past 7:15 thanks to hunger pangs. 

Best moment this week? The crib arrived today!!!!!    

How are you feeling? This week, I’ve been trying to do too much and am feeling exhausted. Spending my days with a lazy yellow lab doesn’t help! She’s such a bad influence!! 

This is how Scout spends most of her afternoons. Such a bum!!

Miss anything? My brain! (That was actually the Hubs' idea...that's how brain-dead I am these days!!) 

Movement? Not as much as I would like. What I do feel is probably gas, but I’m pretending it’s the Baby Tuna swimming around in there.

Food cravings? Nutella, Honey Nut Cheerios, egg salad sandwiches, and Jello pudding

Aversions?  Nothing new this week.

Anything make you queasy or sick? Talking about getting sick.

Gender: IT’S A GIRL!!!

Any names picked out? We think we have a first name picked out, but you suckers will just have to wait until the big day to find out! :oP

Labor signs? No

Belly button in or out? Still an inny.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood?  Feeling pretty good these days.

Looking forward to: Feeling Baby Tuna moving around, and finishing clearing out the nursery (we’ve been working in slow-motion, but we’re almost done!!)


It's about time we got started on our registry! Being huge nerds, we've done some research, listened to friends' opinions, and read the Baby Bargains book cover to cover (Thanks for the suggestion Allison and Erin. That book was a huge help in weeding through all the options.) . Our big dilemma now is knowing where to register. We've heard good and bad things about the usual places (Target, Babies R Us, Amazon and Buy Buy Baby) making it tougher to decide. So, all of you new (and new-ish) mommies out there...where did you register? And would you use them again? Please comment below (comments should be open to everyone now, but won't show up immediately so that I can approve them to keep out the riff-raff). You can also comment on Facebook. 

Nursery Inspiration

Because the nursery is still mostly junk room/office, we have been stuck in the planning phase for the nursery these last few months. I have spent a zillion hours online looking for décor ideas. Anyone who knows me even a little bit will tell you that I am decidedly NOT a pink person, so the idea of a pink nursery kinda makes me want to gag. We love the yellow and gray color combination, with some hints of blue, and elephants are just too cute to pass on. Who doesn't love a baby elephant?! We don't want to go too theme-y, something that will grow with her, just an elephant here or there...

I made a little inspiration board for Baby Tuna’s nursery.

We've ordered the crib (a great deal thanks to my Target card…free shipping AND a 5% discount.  Woot woot!) and the glider (a supreme splurge of epic proportions from Pottery Barn Kids), and the stuffed elephant arrived about a week ago (Jelly Cat from Amazon). 

Now that the glider drama is behind us (it took us me forever to decide if it was worth it to splurge on a glider), we now move on to the paint dilemma. We rent our current home, and although our wonderful landlord has given us permission to paint, we just aren't sure if we want to go to the trouble (it will have to be painted back to the current color when we move out). The color that is already on the walls is a very nice creamy white. But wouldn't Subtle Touch from Behr look sooo much better with all of the white trim in that little room? 

We think so. We will probably paint. Or I should say, the Hubs will probably paint. I'm going to have a  difficult time relinquishing control of the paint roller, but I know he will do a great job. And that frees me up to surf Etsy and the rest of the web for ideas! 

One final note...

Some of you guys have said that you are unable to leave a comment on the blog. Recently, I set it up so that anyone can comment (you shouldn't need to be a member of anything special, if I did it right) but all comments must be approved by me, so it won't show up right away. Just thought you'd like to know that. :o)

20 Weeks...Halfway There!

How far along? 20 weeks…the halfway point!

Total weight gain: 13-14 lbs…the numbers on the scale are a little scary, but all for a good reason.

How big is baby? About the length of a banana…about 6.5 inches long and somewhere around 10 oz.  

Maternity clothes? Gap Maternity t-shirts and non-maternity sweatpants are kind of my jam these days.

Stretch marks? None yet.

Sleep? Sleep is hit or miss. Some nights are good, some are really restless. I think I need a new body pillow. The one I have is bigger than I am (and that’s saying something).

Best moment this week? Ordering the crib and finally ordering the glider for the nursery. It took for-ever to decide on which chair to get and was a MAJOR splurge, but totally worth it. Now I can move on to obsessing about something else…like whether or not we should paint the nursery, and where we should register and what for.   

How are you feeling? Pretty good, most of the time, but I'm still dealing with this weird indigestion issue.

Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach.

Movement? Not too much. Can’t wait to feel her warm up those dancing legs! (Though I will probably regret saying that in a few months)

Food cravings? Other than a wicked candy craving (hello Halloween candy!!) I haven’t had much in the way of cravings. The Hubs, on the other hand, has had a major chicken wing craving this week.  Does it count as a sympathy symptom if I don’t even like chicken wings? Haha!

Aversions? A trip to Publix can be a bit of a nasal assault, between the cinnamon brooms all over the produce department, the stinky fish department, and whatever it is that lady is cooking for customers to sample. The Hubs sometimes takes over the shopping duties (he’s a saint!).

Anything make you queasy or sick? See above!

Gender prediction? IT’S A GIRL!!!

Any names picked out? We think we have a first name picked out, but you suckers will just have to wait until the big day to find out! :oP

Labor signs? No

Belly button in or out? Still an inny.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood?  Pretty good most of the time.

Looking forward to: Feeling Baby Tuna moving around, and finishing clearing out the nursery.   

Baby Tuna's first stuffed animal! So soft and cuddly! 

I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely fall weather…and by everyone, I mean everyone that DOES NOT live in Florida. Don’t get me wrong, it is quite nice down here. Feels great to not be bitch-slapped in the face with 1,000% humidity. But, let’s be honest, it feels more like late spring. I feel a bit weird ordering a pumpkin spice latte when it’s still 87 degrees outside, not that it will stop me! (But only once a week so the Baby Tuna doesn’t get all cracked out on caffeine.)

That being said, October 1^st marks the start of the holiday season: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! My most favorite 3 months of the year! I love decorating the house and have loved buying holiday outfits for my friends’ kids through the years. This season, it has been so hard passing on all of the super cute Halloween baby outfits out there…orange and purple striped tights under a black tutu? Yes please! I so look forward to all of the fashion possibilities this time next year as we dress up the Baby Tuna. Until then, I will have to settle for decorating my TV (cuz we don’t have a mantel)…

and nibbling on candy corn, and of course, my weekly pumpkin spice latte. :0)

19 Weeks

How far along? 19 weeks

Total weight gain: 12 lbs and holding…my weight hasn’t changed much since I started working out again.

How big is baby? About the size of a mango…about 6 inches long and somewhere around 9 oz.  

Maternity clothes? Since I’m working from home now, I usually rock a t-shirt and sweats or yoga pants. These days comfort is key!

Stretch marks? None yet.

Sleep? Sleeping well, not counting the 2:30 am potty and snack break.

Best moment this week? Telling everyone that the Baby Tuna is a girl!

How are you feeling? Pretty good, most of the time, but I still have my sickie moments. And my sinuses have completely exploded in the last few days.

Miss anything? Salads, believe it or not. I used to eat a big tasty salad every day, but I had to quit because of the horrific gas bloats that they gave me. (TMI?) Haven’t had a salad in months. Our neighborhood green market starts up again this weekend, so I may have to try to eat one with some fresh organic veggies.  Maybe if I slather it in Makotos ginger dressing or Whole Foods ginger miso it will digest a little easier? Haha!

Movement? Felt a couple of flutters, but only once this week.  

Food cravings? Jelly Bellies…my sweet tooth is back and in full effect…sweet potato fries (FYI the OreIda sweet potato steak fries are supper yummy) and spaghetti, though the Hubs is getting sick of having it for dinner. (I could probably eat it every day!)

Aversions? Nothing new…although eggs are getting less offensive. A TooJays’ egg salad on challah (Holla!) sounds kind of amazing right now.

Anything make you queasy or sick? Talking about getting sick.

Gender prediction? IT’S A GIRL!!!

Labor signs? No

Belly button in or out? Still an inny.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood?  Pretty good most of the time.

Looking forward to: Cleaning out the junk room nursery.  Hopefully this weekend we will get it cleared out so we can get started decorating.  

In all of the excitement last week, I totally forgot to post a pic of Baby Tuna from our anatomy scan (sorry Mom!). So here is the latest photo of our baby girl. Our ultrasound tech is amazing and always gives us a zillion pics, but this is the best one. Just love that little pot belly!