Shopping for Baby and Mommy

Thursday I headed to Williamsburg, IA with Tracy and Bev for a day of shopping at the outlet mall. I actually hate shopping in general, so it was my goal to get ALL the main pieces I'd need for maternity wear for the summer. I am happy to report I feel that it was a success!

Usually, my main stops at the outlet are Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Tommy Hilfiger, etc. but today, Motherhood Maternity was the only place to be for me! I was able to get 3 pairs of capris, 2 comfy pairs of yoga pants, a cardigan, and 8 short sleeve and sleeveless tops! Can you tell I like black? Tracy and Bev were super generous and thoughtful and purchased some of the pieces for me as an early birthday gift. THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I am sure I will pick up a few more tops here and there this summer, but I'm really happy with everything we were able to find, and at such good prices, too! I also got some cute new undies and bras after Tracy and Bev would basically not let me leave without "pregnancy underwear and bras." They mentioned it so many times that I finally decided to buy them just to get them to leave me alone about it. And to clarify again, as I told them as well several times..."Yes, I appreciate you two mentioning that, and I know I will need new bras and undies. I agree, I just wasn't planning on buying those with my mother-in-law and grandma-in-law!" (Ha! Love you, Tracy and Bev!) Sorry if this is TMI!

And of course we checked out the baby clothing stores. Tracy had a hard time containing herself, but Bev and I kept her in check. :-) It was a good thing we weren't sure of the sex of the baby because I think we all would have wanted to buy more if we knew for sure.

I'm so happy to show you Baby Smyser's first onsies (from Grandma Tracy) and bibs (from Great Grandma Bev)!

I'm *thinking* of going with a yellow/duckie or zoo animal accented theme for the nursery now. Those were the clothes and accessories at the stores that really stuck out the most for me. Anyways, that's not final...just my initial thoughts regarding the theme.

Well, this is the end of my 20th week. I'm halfway done...and I can't believe it!!!

Foto Friday - A Preview of the Next Post!

Baby Smyser is a...

We are proud to introduce Baby Smyser's first picture! (Is it just me, or does Baby Smyser have quite the pot belly already?!)

Sorry for the delay about our ultrasound this week! It was such an amazing experience, and it flew by too fast. We were so happy to hear that everything measured well, and that all the organs they were looking for were visible. Baby Smyser's heart rate was around 145.

One of the most memorable moments for Josh and me was when Baby Smyser had the hiccups! We were told that was a good sign of lung development. I never though hiccups would be so cute...until now.

I have carefully studied this foot picture. I think most of you know Josh has the flattest feet in the world. And, my weird foot feature is that my big toe is shorter than my second toe. We've figured no matter what, Baby Smyser will likely have some unique feet! Of course it's still too early to determine specific features like that...so, time will tell!

Here's a picture of the front of Baby Smyser's face. You can see that it's, yes, I said "it's," right hand is up near it's cheek.

So, the the ultrasound technician told us that she never felt she had as clear of a view as she would have liked, or that she's had with other viewings (I guess Baby Smyser listened to it's mom!), but if she had to determine the sex of Baby Smyser from that day's viewing alone, she was going with female. She said while she never saw testicles, they could have been hiding or missed due the angle of Baby Smyser. It was hard for me to tell how confident she was, as I know it's her job to tell us that she can never been 100% accurate. So...while we are leaning towards Baby Smyser being a girl...and Josh personally feels confident we're having a girl...I'm still on the fence.

At this point, we aren't scheduled and won't have another ultrasound unless the need arises. We also haven't decided yet if we'll be doing a 3D ultrasound for sure...so, I guess for now, all I feel comfortable saying is: "We're having a girl! But there is still a slight chance it's a boy!"

Oh, and some favorite quotes said by the wonderful husband:

* "It looks like an alien." (Referring to the face pictures.)

* "It's taking after Daddy already." (Referring to my comment about it's big belly.)

* "It looks like it's laying in a tomb." (Referring to the first picture I posted.)

P.S. Some days...I still can't believe I have a human growing inside of me! Ahhhh!

My First Belly Picture!

For the past few weeks, I didn't think I was noticeably showing. I just thought I looked like I ate one too many banana splits. Ha! Well, this week (week 18), I feel like my belly really "popped" out and Baby Smyser decided to make his/her appearance more known to the world. Josh even commented a couple nights ago out of nowhere, "Wow, your belly is huge!" (Probably the only time in my life this comment wasn't followed with me punching him in the face.) I do feel like it's huge...and I know it's just going to get bigger! It's hard to imagine, but very exciting, too!

Overall, I've been feeling pretty good. However, for the past few days I've been fighting a cold that Josh gave me. I still feel pretty yucky, but I hope to feel better soon! This is the second time I've been sick this winter!

Our first ultrasound is Wednesday, only 4 more days! We are beyond excited. As of now, we are still going to find out if it's a boy or girl. I'd actually really like to wait and be surprised, and I try to convince Josh to be surprised everyday, but so far, I am losing that battle. So, I'm trying to communicate to the baby to keeps it's legs crossed all day Wednesday, so we'll see who he/she listens to.

Well, here's the picture.

On the agenda for next week (besides the ultrasound), is finally removing my belly button ring! I've had it pierced for 10 years and have never changed it from the ring it was pierced with. Now, I can't seem to get it out...so...yeah...

My Husband's So Thoughtful!

While wandering the aisles of Menard's today, my husband picked up a...gadget I would call it... creatively called a "Reach Tool," and excitedly turned to me and declared, "I'm buying this for you since you're pregnant." Here's the rest of our conversation.

Meg: "What? Why? That's a total waste of $5. Put it back."

Josh: "Nope. I'm getting it for you. You're going to have a big belly, and it will be hard to bend over and pick stuff up."

Meg: "What will I be picking up with this??"

Josh: "Like um, laundry. Like a sock or something."

Meg: "You know, I'm not going to like double in size. I'm still going to be able to move around and be somewhat agile (I hope!)."

Josh: "We're getting it. It looks like fun. It's only $5!"

Meg: "Whatever."

I walk away...as I do, he uses "my" new toy to annoyingly grab the hood of my sweatshirt.

While I may have objected initially...I must admit that my new "Reach Tool" came in handy to pull Josh's hood of his sweatshirt later on in the parking lot...and to grab a tasty box of Reece's Pieces that had "accidentally" fell to the floor.

Only 11 more days until the ultrasound! We can't wait!