26 weeks

How far along? 26 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Uch, I don't want to talk about it...LOL...looks like I am up 3lbs.
Maternity clothes? When I was in Cleveland I went to Beachwood mall and went to the Destination Maternity store, which is one store that has a Motherhood & Pea in the Pod in one place. Got some really great comfy black pants to lounge around it! Very excited about those and I got a pair of new khakis from Old Navy maternity online.
Sleep: I pretty much don't even fully wake up anymore when I get up in the middle of the night to pee, so I guess it is good that I have gotten used to it at this point. Sleeping pretty well, still find myself on my back every so often...it's a hard habit to kick even with a body pillow!
Best moment this week: Our baby shower in Cleveland, it was awesome! Jaime is a great hostess, and makes the BEST cupcakes EVER (I ate like 3 or 4, which probably has something to do with my larger gain this week)! We got lots of great gifts from our friends and family, so many adorable outfits! We also got our diaper pail, grow with me bathtub, and Graco Snap & Go stroller. Todd's parents gave us our gorgeous crib and some more cute outfits, and my mom gave us a beautiful handmade bassinet/cradle! We even played some cute shower games and it was so good to visit with everyone. **Pictures to be posted to the blog hopefully soon!

Worst moment this week: Spending 6hrs in the car each way to Cleveland with dogs on my lap! I think this will be the last time that we do that, if I am able to make the trip again for Thanksgiving we will either kennel the dogs or they will have to learn to ride in the back seat!
Food cravings: Lox, which I cannot have, boo to that! It was a beautiful fall day here and it put me in the mood for soup, so Garden Chowder was what I was craving all day so that is what I made for dinner and it was delicious! =)
Movement: Seriously this little guy rarely stops moving lately, the past few days have been crazy! He is all over the place, I think he is doing backflips...seriously...backflips!
\Gender: Team Blue!
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly button in or out? In. Todd likes to point out that for the record my belly button is definitely getting more and more shallow...but I say it is still an innie!
What I miss: LOX, I already told my family that the two things I want in my postpartum room are champagne (I suppose you could splash a little oj in there for good measure) and bagels/cream cheese/lox! These are must have items people! MUST HAVE, I am NOT joking!
What I am looking forward to: Well...we picked up the crib & the dresser tonight, so I am looking forward to getting the crib put together and placed in Mr. Bun's room. We put the dresser in place last night, it looks so good! We also need to finish putting the bassinet/cradled back together and getting that setup in our room. I will post pictures of all of that sometime this coming weekend.
Milestones: The network of nerves in Mr. Bun's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both my voice and Todd's as we chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English cucumber) from head to heel.

25 weeks

How far along? 25 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Like a yoyo. Back to where I was before last week.
Maternity clothes? Oh just a few...
Sleep: Same deal as the past few weeks. Glad I am able to get any sleep that I can right now.
Best moment this week: Finishing up painting Mr. Bun's room (see post below). Getting a call telling us that the nursery furniture from BRU has come in, we can't wait to pick it up and put it all together!!! We had a nice Rosh Hashanah and enjoyed our first services at our new synagogue.
Worst moment this week: Dealing with the Blinds Department at Home Depot...not the most pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I was definitely cranky, tired, and hungry by the time we finished.
Food cravings: I was still craving a chocolate malt milkshake...this week I caved. It was very yummy! =)
Movement: Constantly, he was bustin' a move all through services Friday night & Saturday morning services. (also see post below about seeing my tummy move)
Gender: Team Blue!
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly button in or out? In.
What I miss: Going up and down all of our stairs and not breathing a little heavier than I used to...and I have months left to go...wonderful!
What I am looking forward to: CLEVELAND!!! We cannot wait to see everyone, I am soooo excited! We also get to check out Taryn & Andy's new place!
Milestones: Head to heels, Mr. Bun now measures about 13 1/2 inches. His weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. He's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color (please be red, please be red) and texture.

Before & During...More to Come

So for the past few weeks we have been cleaning and preping the office to become Mr. Bun's new digs. We cleared everything out and relocated the office to the now combined guest room/office.

Two weeks ago we picked out our paint color and purchased it from Sherwin Williams, and last week we began taping the room and got one coat on all walls and a second coat on two of the four before we ran out of steam (and paint).

This weekend we finished up painting, touched up a few places, we installed a ceiling fan/light combo & dimmer, and put up new wood blinds. Todd was very handy and we were super productive! Yay us! We celebrated with dinner at McCormick and Schmick's using a gift card that I got for this past administrative professionals day.

Now we just need to pick up the nursery furniture from BRU. We got a call yesterday saying that it has arrived and they are holding it for us for 15 days! It is all coming together, it is so exciting! Just a few more decorating details and we will have it all done!

Here are a few before and during pictures...we will add more once we have furniture too.

Knock knock...

Who's there?
Ima.
Ima Who?
Ima kick you so hard that your belly will visibly shake and freak you out! (And keep doing that for like 30 minutes)

Mr. Bun told me that joke last night. Todd found it to be hilarious. I, however, was a little too weirded out to find is as amusing. ;)

24 weeks

How far along? 24 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Down 1.2lbs this week. Apparently painting is a really good workout.
Maternity clothes? Yes, though my regular black dress pants are still working for me...I got some cute new maternity jeans last week, LOVE em'!
Sleep: Not so much lately...I have been tossing and turning A LOT. Mr. Bun seems to be tossing and turning in my belly a lot lately at night as well, not the normal kick here and there, definitely more constant.
Best moment this week: Getting Mr. Bun's room painted! It looks great, we just have a little touch up work to finish up. Grandma Isaacs ordered Mr. Bun his nursery furniture this past weekend, we are super excited about that! (THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!) Grammy Sparks has been busily working on cleaning up my great grandmother's rocking chair to also go in Mr. Bun's room. (THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!)
Worst moment this week: Having to stop wearing both my engagement ring & wedding band because they won't both fit any more so it is one or the other, BOO, swelling sucks!
Waking up at 5am this morning and being super stressed out about all that I have to get done at work these days...a little overwhelmed right now. =(
Food cravings: I think I could eat mac & cheese everyday, but I suppose that is not too surprising since I felt that way before being pregnant. I could also really go for a chocolate malt milkshake, but have not given into that one.
Movement: Definitely!
Gender: Team Blue!
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly button in or out? In.
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy & back.
What I am looking forward to: Relaxing a little this weekend. I am so exhausted and it is only Wednesday!
Milestones: Mr. Bun is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Guest Post from Todd

Today's blog is brought to you by the letter T and the number 29.

Total weight gain/loss: Up 7 lb.
Maternity clothes? Haven't had to buy any new clothes. I usually go up and down throughout the year, but this is more like my winter coat, not summer.
Sleep: So much to do. I usually remember it just before I nod off and need to keep a list by the bed. Stacie is up and down so much that the dogs are finding me comfier. Which is good and bad because Alex snores. At least I think its Alex.

Best moment this week: I think I felt a kick on my bday! I have been jealous that Stacie has been feeling them for the past few weeks. I guess I should be happy I am not the one feeling kicks at 0'dark hundred in the morning. Her doctor said we should not only be feeling but seeing kicks within the next couple weeks.

Worst moment this week: Throwing away hundreds of kilograms of paper. Lots of it was work related and it was interesting to see where my interests/goals have changed/been shifted. Other stuff was a few things from undergrad/grad school (like my trusty back-pack). I couldn't throw most of it away. I guess I am a pack-rat when it comes to knowledge.
Food cravings: Whenever the choice is left up to me, I go for Chinese food, but that happens even when Stacie isn't pregnant. I remember blaming some junk-food on Stacie's cravings earlier in the pregnancy. I haven't really had any other couvade symptoms though.
Movement: Are we talking mood swings or baby movement? If its the latter, see above. Apparently I have a very calming touch and whenever I place my hand down on Stacie's tummy, the bun stops moving.
Gender: Our first child, is a masculine child
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly button in or out? In. Personally, I wonder if it happens slowly or all at once. One day is it recognizable as a belly-button and the next day *POP* its an outie? Ahh, the miracle of child-birth.
What I miss: Stacie drinking wine.
What I am looking forward to: Looking forward to seeing everyone in Cleveland. Plus, I had a really great idea and I am looking forward to putting it together: Instead of getting one of these baby video monitors I think I can get a webcam and a wi-fi enabled ipod touch can do the trick for the same price but much better all around. (Any advice with this sort of thing is appreciated).

Milestones: Now that the we know what gender the bun is, everything is much more real. We have chosen nursery themes, paint color, furniture, etc. Everything still needs to be obtained and/or arranged but each purchase or day cleaning feels like a step closer to welcoming the bun home.

23 weeks (one day late)

How far along? 23 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 1lb.
Maternity clothes? Yep.
Sleep: Having a harder time turning my brain off at night, I just keep thinking of all the stuff we need to do yet before January. Mr. Bun has started to wake me up in the mornings, with a little kick kick here punch punch there...
Best moment this week: Tony’s BBQ was really fun, the weather was fabulous. I took my famous Car Bomb Cupcakes, this time I didn’t cut any corners and even filled them with the chocolate whiskey filling (don’t worry, I didn’t eat any myself I promise).

Let’s see…we finally got the office cleaned out and moved into our combined guestroom/office (it’s a wee bit cramped, but oh well). We agreed upon a theme for Mr. Bun’s room and then we went and picked out paint yesterday so now we just need to get busy taping and painting, I don’t think it will take too long once we get started. Also we have finally made a decision on nursery furniture, though we have not ordered it yet. It’s all starting to come together…at least in my head anyway!
Worst moment this week: Feeling overwhelmed and being an emotional mess while cleaning out the office and moving everything into the guest room. I would like to apologize to my wonderful husband and thank him for dealing with my irrationalness.
Food cravings: Fruit, but that’s nothing new, I have been loving nectarines.
Movement: I think I actually felt him have the hiccups the other day, it was so weird!
Gender: Team Blue!
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly button in or out? In.
What I miss: Just call me little miss broken record…WINE.
What I am looking forward to: Celebrating Todd's 29th birthday! Planning our upcoming trip to Cleveland, I can't wait to see our family...I miss them all the time! Oh and our next ultrasound on September 30th...love every chance we get to see Mr. Bun.
Milestones: I should turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, Mr. Bun can feel me dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound, I may be able to see him squirm underneath my clothes (I haven’t yet though). Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that his increasingly keen ears are picking up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as Alex & Guinness barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

22 weeks

How far along? 22 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Amazingly enough I only gained 1lb this week.
Maternity clothes? Yep.
Sleep: Still tryin to stay on my sides more, I am getting a little more used to it.
Best moment this week: Listening Todd tell Mr. Bun about our days and how dinner was at Passionfish last Monday. It was very cute listening to him recount our day for the little guy.
Worst moment this week: Feeling so exhausted all weekend after our very productive Friday, it's like it sucked all the energy out of me! It was hard to get anything done.
Food cravings: I had a dream about trick or treating and getting lots of Willy Wonka Bottle Cap candies, so then I really kinda wanted some. While were were at Wegmans I got two packages of them, I was super excited. Mmmm so sugary good!
Movement: Still movin' and grovin' in there. This is one very active little guy!
Gender: Team Blue!
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly button in or out? In.
What I miss: A good deli sandwich. For lunch turkey on wheat would be delightful...
What I am looking forward to: Making a decision on furniture for the nursery, ordering some blinds, and picking out paint (we didn't make progress on this one last week). BBQing in the city with Tony this weekend, maybe I'll do car bomb cupcakes again they were a pretty big hit! ;)
Milestones: At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, the Bun is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside my womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.