Quick Atlanta Trip

We made a quick trip to Atlanta a couple weekends ago to spend some time with the Staub's and to make an Ikea run. Unfortunately, we don't have one of these amazing stores, and it is probably better that we don't because I would be there everyday.

Brian was on a mission this trip to find some baby Georgia stuff. UGA stuff is hard to come by in Memphis. Thankfully, when we got to the Staub's house, they had already picked up a few Georgia goodies for Preston :) Brian will have this child SOOO into Georgia, I won't even get a chance to tell him about how great UT is. Oh well....

They also got Preston a Georgia sippy cup, but the package it was in kept bouncing off the flash, so I didn't get a good pic. Thanks Staub family!!!!

We did get to spend some time with one of our favorite little girls, Charlotte. She is just precious and it is crazy that she will be a year old soon. She has the most beautiful red hair and Brian and I could not get over how perfect she is. I took a few pics of her while we were visiting.

Brian and Charlotte really hit it off

Towards the end of her photo shoot... she was ready to play instead of pose for the camera. I promise she really does love her dad, Van :)

We were also very successful at Ikea! We picked up a crib, two bookcases, toys, bedding, fabrics for the nursery, and a couple small things for our house. I'll wait to post pics until we actually start on the nursery. Right now, the third bedroom where our nursery will be is a disaster, so no pics just yet :)

Fetal Echocardiogram

So last week we had a special appointment planned - a fetal echocardiogram. It took a very close look at Preston's heart. At my first appointment confirming my pregnancy, my OB suggested I have a fetal echo performed to make sure the baby's heart is typically developing. She suggested this because of a family history of congenital heart defects. From work, I already knew a little bit about fetal echos and have even been in the room when one of our pediatric cardiologists was reading a fetal echo and analyzing its results.

An OB that specializes in high risk pregnancies conducts the fetal echo, which is basically like a regular sonogram. He makes any preliminary findings and sends the tape over to a pediatric cardiologist at the children's hospital where I work. Then, if anything is detected, I would be referred to the high risk OB for the rest of my pregnancy.

Thankfully, we had a great check-up and Dr. Schneider suggested Brian take me to lunch for growing a perfect baby :) Some of the images from the fetal echo were just amazing. We saw his little face in 4-d. Everything is perfectly developed. Knowing this gives us such security and we couldn't ask for anything more. Here are a few images of Preston from that test.

Creepy skeleton face pic

His perfect little foot... we counted - five toes on both feet!

21 Weeks

The baby is the size of a banana!The baby is swallowing amniotic fluid to hydrate. I read that the baby's taste buds are fully formed now. Studies show that babies develop what they like to eat in utero, so now is a good time to introduce foods that we want him to eat. Pretty cool stuff! Here is what he looks like:

Here is what I look like:


21 down, 19 to go!

What's in a name?

A lot for Brian and me! We knew what we wanted the name to be for a little girl or a little boy for a while. So, I reveal to our the name of our little boy.....

Preston Robert Fields

Preston = My great grandfather

Robert = Brian's dad

We are getting used to calling the baby Preston. It is definitely a change from Baby Fields :) We love the name and can't wait to call him Preston in person.

20 Weeks and Ultrasound Video

Baby Fields is the size of a cantaloupe!

The baby is half way finished baking! The baby is swallowing more and more and has started producing meconium. Here is what Baby Fields looks like:

Here is Baby Fields at his 20 week ultrasound:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And here is what I look like:

20 down, 20 to go!

Snips, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails

That's what little BOYS are made of!

Baby Fields is a HE!

Can you believe it!?!??! We can't.

We had a wonderful check-up today and we found out we are having a son. It was so cool. Here are some photos of our big boy. I'll have a video to show later, as soon as I figure that out.

Right now, he weighs 12 oz. and is measuring perfect for everything. The ultrasound tech even told us the kidneys work perfect because he had a full bladder. Crazy how much they can see! We measured his brain and all his organs and everything looked perfect. Feeling blessed!!

Close up of his profile. You can see his nose, mouth and chin. So sweet!

Below is one from further away. You can see where his heart is (the little black holes just below his neck) and you can also see his spine just below that.

Holy Moly - here is the boy shoot! According to the ultrasound tech, he is 100% boy.

My 20 week post will be a little late as we have a fun little weekend planned for us to shop for all things LITTLE BOY. I'll check back in at the end of the weekend. Until then, we are celebrating :)

Tomorrow's the Big Day

Tomorrow at 9:30 we find out if Baby Fields is a boy or a girl! Of course, we don't care, we just want a healthy baby, but the idea of finally knowing tomorrow is really exciting. Apparently, my coworkers are heavily one-sided in thinking it's a boy; however, our families are heavily one-sided on girl.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning thinking about how tomorrow is the big day :)

I'll update my Facebook status from the doc for everyone to know.

YAY!!!

Reward

Since I have almost made it to the half way point in my pregnancy - officially, the half way point is Friday - I decided to reward myself with a few maternity clothes. I really haven't bought anything except the necessities since maternity clothes are pretty expensive. However, it has finally gotten to the point where my regular clothes are becoming uncomfortable.

So far, I really have to say that I recommend being pregnant in the time of year that I am. My summer clothes fit me all summer long, and just as things were starting to get tight, I could wear dresses. Then comes the crisp fall air and the cold winter months, which means I really only have one season (winter) of being super pregnant. My plan is to live in leggings, my UGG boots, and oversized tops. This is what I wear anywhere, so adapting it to maternity will be pretty easy. Some of this can be translated to work, but my plan is to buy a few basics to get me by until February. I love the idea of having the baby in February, because just when the baby is old enough to be getting out of the house, spring will be here. :)

Here are a few of my finds today, mostly for work but also for some upcoming weddings. The first is made by NOM, the second two are by Maternal America.

Can't wait to wear them!

19 Weeks

The baby is the size of a mango!

This week, Baby Fields is growing hair on its head. Also, the baby's brain is designating specialized areas for taste, smell, hearing, vision, and touch. Here is what the baby looks like (um, can we say uncomfortable?):

Here is what I look like:

19 down, 21 to go!

Mallory's 17th Birthday

Sunday night we celebrated my sister-in-law Mallory's birthday. She had a surprise party and it was equally hilarious and fun!

First, we took some pictures downtown while her family and friends met at Kooky Canuck's to surprise. After the pictures, we headed to the restaurant and all her friends surprised. Then they went on a carriage ride around downtown. Happy Birthday Mallory! Can't believe you are 17!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Success!

I am super excited because I just had some major diaper bag success. I have been a member of Gilt Groupe for a long time, and they had a sale today on baby gear. Skip Hop was one of the featured sales in the children's category. They make all kinds of baby gear, but in particular I have been checking out their diaper bags. I wanted a cute diaper bag, but didn't want to spend a fortune. I also wanted something gender neutral so it could be used for multiple kids. So, I logged in when the sale started and got this gem for $27! I found it other places online and the cheapest I could find it was around $60, so this is quite a bargain.

Here are some of the features:

*Lightweight, water-resistant laminated cotton canvas
*Contrast interior lining
*Hangs neatly on a stroller and can be worn over the shoulder
*Adjustable stroller bar straps
*Adjustable and removable shoulder strap
*Large matching changing pad with built-in pillow
*Large rear pocket for changing pad and diapers
*Two roomy front pockets with magnetic closures
*Two side bottle pockets with magnetic closures
*Large main compartment with super strong magnetic closure
*Two top easy access zippered pockets that keep personal items safe and dry
*Two interior bottle/organizer pockets
*Silver nickel hardware detail

Yay for the first purchase for Baby Fields! Can you believe that? We haven't bought a single thing for our child. We are really waiting until we know the sex. So, glad to finally say we have spent the first of many dollars on our little one :)

New Poll

I added a poll to guess if Baby Fields is a boy or girl - look on the right side of my blog and vote!

18 Weeks

This week, the baby is the size of a sweet potato!!

The baby is moving like crazy and according to Babycenter is yawning, hiccuping, sucking its thumb, rolling (I definitely feel that!), twisting, kicking, punching and swallowing. I also read that the baby's ears are in their final position, although they are sticking out, haha. You can also see all of the baby's blood vessels through the skin. Here is what the baby looks like at 18 weeks:

Here is what I look like:

18 down, 22 to go!

Inspiration Nurseries

It's officially September! The month we find out if Baby Fields is a boy or a girl. In the meantime, I have started a little research on nurseries and cannot wait to begin transforming our guest bedroom to a nursery.

Here are a few of my fav nurseries and links to more detailed info on them. Baby rooms are so sweet! Most of these images came from Spearmint Baby.

More info can be found here.

More info here.

More info here.

More info on this nursery can be found here.

More info here.

This one is my most favorite. More info here.

As you can see from the above, I'm not into matchy, matchy. If you have seen our house, we have only bought two new pieces of furniture in the last 4 years. The rest are from scavenger hunts through estate sales and hand me downs. My favorite chair in our house is from New York - my dad (who I tend to get my love of old, used furniture from) picked it off the side of the road in the 1970s. Of course we will buy a new crib, but everything else we have collected for the nursery so far are hand me downs. For fabrics and decor, I have been scouring Etsy, Anthropologie, and other sites for vintage/antique-looking items for the baby's room. We don't plan on buying matching crib bedding, but piecing different fabrics and items together for a unique look.

From the pics above, we like gender neutral rooms even though we are finding out the sex. I don't want a pink frilly room for a girl - if she is anything like her momma, she won't be super girly and won't particularly enjoy pink. And for a boy, this is probably the only time in his life he will let me give him a sweet and tranquil room without trucks, sports gear and weapons. For paint colors, I am a huge fan of Benjamin Moore's Gray Horse and Bird's Egg.

One debate will be decided on Sept. 16, when we find out boy or girl. I like white nursery furniture and Brian likes dark nursery furniture. Over a handshake in Target, we decided that if it's a girl, white furniture, and if it's a boy, dark furniture.

Eventually, I'll do a post all on accessories. We also have a trip to Atlanta planned in which we will be making a major Ikea run. Check back soon for more nursery updates!