27 Weeks

We're now in the THIRD trimester. (Told y'all it would be here in no time!) Only 13 more weeks until we meet our little guy! And let me tell you, he is taking over this body! 

I'm not doing a questionnaire for this post, because honestly nothing has really changed. I'm still feeling great and enjoying everything. Since the bump is so noticable now, people have been opening doors for me (not a normal thing for Pittsburgh, my dear southies), giving up their seats on the T (Pittsburgh's subway), and going out of their way to ask me all kinds of questions. And I do mean all kinds of questions! It's been a bit odd being catered to, but I'm not going to argue. :) I haven't had any strangers reach for a belly rub yet....nor am I looking forward to that either.

Here are some bump pics! Hope y'all had a great Fourth!! 

Got a frontal shot for y'all this time ;) 

25 Weeks

I really can't believe we're at 25 weeks (well, as of Wednesday)! Two weeks and we'll be in the third trimester - that's just nuts! 

I'm pretty sure the bump grew over night - I promise I wasn't this big yesterday! Josh even noticed that it was poking out more than usual. 

Total Weight Gain: I'm up 10 pounds, but that was two weeks ago at my dr's appointment. So I'm going to say I've probably put on a couple more lbs since then.

Stretch Marks: I've been using Bio-Oil and so far none. Fingers crossed it stays that way. 

Sleep: We've added an extra pillow top to our already pillow top mattress....making it so much more comfortable for me. I'm still using pillows for propping and have been sleeping pretty good! 

Best Moment this Week: The weather has been nice, so we've been hitting the park for walks with the dogs almost every evening. I think I look forward to it just as much as the pups do. (Did I mention there's a shaved ice stand at the park??)

Miss Anything? My hands and feet are a tad swollen and when we go for walks and it's hot out they become even more swollen. So, I've had to take off my ring. I can still wear my wedding band, but I really miss my ring. 

Movement: This guy is definitely active in there! Josh likes to listen to my belly and has gotten some kicks love taps in the head from Nolan :)

Food Cravings: I don't know that I've had any cravings, but I definitely enjoy eating! Hahaa!! I did have a craving for a late night Pepsi Icee - and of course the machine was out of order. :( Dang!! 

Anything Making You Queasy or Sick: Nope - all good! I still don't like cherry tomatoes or blue berries (things I ate the night before getting sick in my first trimester). 

Belly Button In or Out? In, but it's going through some changes. It's been interesting watching the evolution of the belly button. 

Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Happy! My second trimester has been really enjoyable and I'm loving being pregnant right now! I haven't experienced any crazy mood swings and always seem to be in a joking, playful, smiley mood. I must have one happy baby in there! 

A few weeks ago we bought our first gift from us to Nolan. We were at the Arts Festival in Downtown Pittsburgh and we found this little bunny at one of the booths. The sweetest lady made him and I couldn't resist! I think a little blue ribbon/bow around his neck will be perfect!  

The Anticipation

Let's start off with the fact that we would have been crazy excited if Baby Dubbs was girl or boy! We could envision our lives with either. I had been overly anxious to know baby's gender from the very beginning. The weeks leading to our anatomy scan appointment seemed to creep by as my anticipation grew.

I wanted to know that baby was healthy and I needed to know baby's gender before I could let myself get carried away with all the day dreaming, nursery plans, and clothes - let's be honest, it's so easy to be completely enamored with all the adorable things they make for girls!

Josh, on the other hand, played it cool the entire time. That is until the night before our appointment. Apparently a few beers will set your emotions free! He couldn't stop asking me what I thought it would be and sharing his guesses (changing each time he told me, of course). I stopped guessing, feeling reassured that we would soon find out and any guess I made at this point had a 50/50 chance of being right anyway! :)

Our appointment went well -  aside from being super active and the ultrasound tech chasing baby down to take measurements, peanut seems to be developing well and is healthy!! GREAT news!

And then came the gender reveal - this little one is a sweet baby BOY! I'm pretty sure Josh's heart stopped beating at that exact moment! His head immediately filled with images of this little guy playing baseball and just as I suspected, a tiny baseball glove will soon be on its way to our house.

We've had a name picked out for some time and I thought I would need to shop around a little before settling on it, but as soon as we said his name out loud and looked at his picture I knew it was a fit for this boy.

Nolan Hugh Whiteside

So many people have asked us where we got Nolan from and the truth is we just kind of pulled it out of the air. We've had lots of long car rides back and forth between here and South Carolina - giving us ample amount of future planning time (baby names became a topic many times).

And I think most people assume Hugh is just my maiden named shortened, but the name really belongs to my Pa (my father's father). Yep, Hugh Hughes. :) His father was also Hugh Hughes - more common than you thought, huh?

Nolan's little profile just melts my heart!! I'm in love! 

  

18 Weeks

It's been 8 weeks since my last post! I am finally feeling better from my couch/bed ridden (all day long) morning sickness. Phew!

I have to take a moment to give a shout out to my hubs who totally went above and beyond to make sure I was well taken care of during the first trimester. I know it was difficult to come home to sick wife after a long day at work - he had all the cleaning, cooking, and pet care to handle while I was out of commission and he dealt with it all like a champ! Just when I thought I couldn't possibly love him any more than I already did, his attentiveness and sweet nature made me feel an even stronger sense of admiration and love for him. I married one heck of an amazing man and that's a true understatement! I seriously am one lucky lady!

Sorry about the horrible selfie! I have never been able to take these! I'd have Josh take them, but we really don't have a great spot to take pictures in the apartment - the lighting is terribly dark. 

How far along:18 weeks! Time flies - we're almost to the half way point!

Total weight gain/loss: I lost a few lbs from my first trimester and at my last doctor's appointment I had gained them back to bring me up to my pre-pregnancy weight. I don't actually own a scale (gasp!). I've just never worried that much about what the scale says. So, we'll find out for sure how much weight I've gained at my appointment next Thursday.

Maternity clothes: I was lucky that my SIL, Stephanie, let me borrow her maternity clothes. So, I have a few things from her and have purchased a pair of jeans. I can almost button my pre-pregnancy jeans and one of those belly bands would probably do the trick, but my maternity jeans are just way more comfy than my regular jeans. I can still wear my shirts, but at this point I prefer the maternity shirts with ruching - that way the bump looks more like a bump and not a gut. ;)

Sleep: I'm super uncomfortable in bed and now have 3 pillows (one for my head and two for my sides - they help keep my on my sides and I throw my leg over them.) I'd have more pillows, but I think Josh would kick me out.

Best moment this week: I absolutely LOVE feeling the little peanut kick!! It started at week 16 and feels like a tiny muscle spasm. I just wish Josh could feel, but that will come in time.

Miss anything? I do miss regular clothes. I love summer styles and I'm sad that I can't shop for all those cute summer things, bathing suits included!

Food cravings: A good southern meat and three!

Anything make you queasy or sick: Lots of things that I ate while I was sick or got sick from still makes me queasy. Let's not talk about it.

Baby is a: Singleton! as in just one...not twins! ;) We were a little worried it may be twins in the beginning - mainly because everyone kept saying it was twins! (And yes, I know this question is really asking about gender)

Looking forward to: Our ultra sound appointment this Monday - we should be finding out boy or girl!

Oh Baby!

It's been exactly 6 weeks and 4 days from the time I realized nothing would be the same. ever. again. Exactly 1,104 hours ago that I had the freak out moment of urinating on a stick to find out if you'll be sharing your body with another human being. And the truth is I couldn't be more thrilled!!

Sure I wanted to throw up at exactly the moment those two pink lines formed. But nothing will ever top this experience! I'm so excited to be a mom and can't wait to meet Baby W! We're 10 weeks 4 days along and baby is due October 2nd.

We're over the moon about this little one!! 

I've been really sick since week 6 - to the point where I couldn't keep water down. (That's not fun by the way.) But my doctor is great and she put me on a prescription to help with the nausea and vomiting (the all day long morning sickness - ugh). So, I'm feeling much better and am praying for a turn around in the second trimester! Hey - nobody ever said growing human life would be easy and that's obvious.

I'm not showing yet, but as soon as I get a bump I'll start posting weekly bump photos.

Road Trip Pros

We are officially pros at road trippin'. Our Christmas was awesome! But we were definitely on the road. A lot. It was during this trip we realized that in the past 5 months, we've managed to travel 4 times outside of Pittsburgh...like 10 hours or more outside of Pittsburgh. We made stops in the Outter Banks of North Carolina & multiple cities in SC - Beaufort, Greenville, Columbia, and Aiken to name a few. That's over 6,192 miles and roughly 120 hours in our SUV. Phew! AND we managed to stay happily married!!

I wish I could say it was a load off to have all of those trips behind us, but the truth is I'm bummed they're over. Each trip brought us something to look forward to. As tiring as traveling may be, knowing that we had opportunities to visit with family & friends really kept us going.

We're looking forward to future trips (yes, we already have a few in the works) & are hoping that 2013 will bring us MANY visitors (hint, hint!!).

Side Note: Did you know Pittsburgh was listed by National Geographic as one of the top 20 places to visit in the world? No kidding! Check it out here! It was also dubbed as a new up & coming hot destination for 2013 on The Today Show. (There's a video for proof...just Google it :) My only recommendation is to visit during the warmer months. We come back to Pittsburgh and this was our welcome...

I hope you had a wonderful New Year! We did and I have an announcement (stop holding your breath - we're not pregnant!). The New Year brought a new job for me! I accepted a position with a great organization and will be the Volunteer Coordinator and Program Associate. I'll give you all more details as I settle in. 

I'm definitely excited for this opportunity and am looking forward to getting out of the house on a regular basis!! ;) This stay at home stuff is for the birds. I'm so glad this year started off with a positive step forward - 2012 just seemed like such a wash for me. I hope 2013 is good to you all!!

Ringing in the New Year! 

Better than Never

I can't believe I waited so long to post about our last trip to Beaufort for another great wedding! My slacking ways don't make for good blogging habbits.

So, let's travel back to the first weekend in November. We headed down to Greenville Thursday night and stayed with some super sweet friends, Alison & Danny H. They are some seriously great friends and we truly thank them for playing host to us and our two crazy weenie dogs each time we come in town! (Which has been a lot lately and we usually don't get in until late. Thank ya'll!)

Greenville is always our first stop when we travel back to Beaufort. Why? Well, for a few reasons. It feels like home for us and if I could hug Greenville, I totally would! Some of our absolute most favorite people live there and even though we don't always get to see most of them due to time constraints, just being there makes us feel like we did - I would hug all of them, too! (I've become quite the hugger and if you know me, you know I've never been one to hug.)
And....are you ready for this? I'm still getting my hair cut there!

Ah! I said it. I'm driving 9 hours to get my hair cut. But you don't understand! I LOVE Emily at Wilson's on Washington! She's simply amazing and is the only one that can cut my hair - and  she also puts up with my neurotic hair issues. She's such a sweet person! Even though she was battling a horrible sinus infection, she somehow mustered up the strength to cut my hair during this visit. I am one grateful lady! Thank you, Emily!

I've always said "hair can make or break you." It's so true. I've had one too many horrible hair cuts (especially since we moved up here). With short hair, it's so hard to hide mistakes. Once it's hacked all to pieces, you're in trouble. So the last time it looked like my hair had been cut by a 3 year old with dull scissors, I talked Josh into taking me home to see Emily. That wasn't hard to do, since we both love that little town so much!

After we got a short fill of Greenville, we made our way to Beaufort Friday afternoon. As soon as we get close to that salty air, we both get so excited!

We always have so much fun catching up with our friends and family, and that weekend was no exception! We're so glad the past two visits to Beaufort have been centered around two beautiful weddings! We were looking forward to the fall for this very reason.

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Green! 

Josh snapped this pretty picture!

It always feels so good to go home, but we hate leaving. We've really learned to value any amount of time we get to spend with loved ones. We're so grateful that so many of you go out of your way to see us too!

To help with the sting of driving back to Pittsburgh, we decided to stop in Columbia Sunday night to visit two (and a half) of our besties, Amy, Ryan & Baby Miller - who is still baking in the oven. Thank you guys for letting us crash on a school night!

With all of these trips, it almost feels like we never left. Almost!