Birdie Baby Sprinkle

Over the holiday weekend, we had my baby sprinkle. And it was perfect. It was short, small, and sweet, just like I wanted it to be. It was very girly, and I loved every minute of it. It's awesome to see how my hard work turned out. And I had a great time with my family and friends.

So, the day was warm, and we had about 30 guests, all women. For dinner, my sister served baked ziti with a garden salad and garlic toast. Mmm, that garlic toast was awesome. We also had fruit salad, white chocolate dipped Oreos, circus cookies, and cupcakes. Sugar overload. And despite indulging, my glucose levels were pretty decent. Favors were Lofthouse cookies in pink and white. We played several games including guess the due date, word scramble, baby trivia, baby girl names, guess how many eggs in the jar, don't cross you legs, and guess the baby food. It was hilarious to listen to all the chatter and comments during the games. After all that fun stuff, I opened presents and found my self in a sea of pink. I.LOVE.IT.

As for the party decor, I made pretty much everything. There were a few things here and there that we bought, or borrowed, but it was my blood, sweat, and tears my hard work that went into most of the decor. It was my family's hard work that went into putting all together. They are awesome. Especially my sister, and my niece, mom, and cousin, but I digress. Here are some lots of pics of Isabella's sprinkle!

Need more party inspiration? Check out my party blog!

Teeth!

Jacob's current obsession is brushing his teeth. He loves it! Whenever he sees his Elmo stool he says teeth, teeth . And now he actually does it over the sink, or in front of the sink, instead of on his changing table. He'd brush his teeth all day, if he could. I usually get a good brush in, and let him try to brush however he wants. That usually involves him chewing on the brush and sucking on it. And I'm annoyed, the Elmo stool we got for him isn't tall enough to get him over the sink. I've found wooden 2-step stools for like $30, but that's redic! Poor thing loves to wash his hands too but it's awkward for him. I need to brainstorm more 'cause I feel bad about it. He needs a taller stool for now.

Jacob also has his favorite phrase and word of the moment. His favorite word is Broke, and his favorite phrase is Awww, Man. If anything is out of place he says it's broke. Oh, and he is really mimicking. Everything. I'm just waiting for the moment someone says a bad word and he picks it up. Ugh. Horrible. And a bad craving Jacob has - McDonald's fries. He knows the little jingle, and he sings it whenever he sees the golden arches. WTH! I have to thank my BIL for that since he's the one who feeds into his food craving. I swear, it's amazing how much kids pick up!

Baby Girl in 3D

Over the weekend, we finally had the chance to see Isabella in 3D. It was amazing! My sister, my niece, my mom, hubby and Jacob all came along. Isabella was being somewhat cooperative, she had her hand in front of her face most of the time. The tech and I tried to get her to move it, and she would, for like a couple of seconds. We got a couple of okay shots, well as good as we could, but with a hand in her face. The tech confirmed it was a girl, and her heart was beating at 152 BPM. It's amazing how we can already see the resemblance. I totally saw something that was Jacob and Jesse. We can tell she's going to have big cheeks just like Jacob did when he was born. My prediction is she will look a little more like me than Jesse. With Jacob's 3D, I remember everyone saying he already looked like Jesse. So, we'll see in a little over 2 months!

Isabella...




Jacob...

Baby Sprinkle Sneak Peek

These last couple of weeks, actually days, I've been getting ready for my sprinkle. Everything's been bought, as far as decor, and food will be ordered this weekend. Now, I'm just putting things together and making most of my decor. Luckily, I've had my niece to help me, and my sister, who's going to help as we put together some last minute stuff this weekend. And my cousin, who's doing the games. But man, am I pooped! After working on stuff for a couple of hours my back starts to kill me. But I'm almost done. I've got a good chunk of it finished. So, what's my theme? It's momma bird and baby bird. When I first started the theme search, all I could find was pink and brown. I love it, but I've been to quite a few pink and brown baby showers within the last year. I wanted to change it up a bit, and I found a party supply bird theme, but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. So, I decided to make the theme my own. My colors are pinks with green and brown accents. Yes, I had to keep brown in there. It looks good with pink and green. Actually, my colors came from the invitation which I built the sprinkle around. It will be a smallish party, for me anyway, of just around 45 women. My big baby shower was almost 100 people, and coed! Anywho, I can't wait to reveal the whole party, and I hope everything comes together smoothly.

30 weeks: GD Update

I had an appointment with my gestational diabetes nurse practitioner to check on how I've been doing so far, and there's some good news and some bad news. My blood sugar #s are really good, but I'm spilling ketones. I really don't quite understand what exactly are ketones, but it has to do with burning fat. Uh, hello! I want to burn fat! Don't I? Apparently, since I'm spilling ketones, it means I'm not getting enough calories and therefor my body is burning fat which is not good, or something like that. I'm telling you, I really don't understand it, but now I've got to eat more calories, and that means more food. Ugh. It's sooo weird, with Jacob you couldn't stop me from eating! Now I'm not eating enough! And if I don't stop spilling the ketones, then they'll up my carb intake which in turn will probably raise my numbers which means I'd be put on insulin. I'm so confused. Are you? All my life (as you may know I'm plus-sized) I've been trying to cut down on my calorie intake, and now I've got to up it. Other than that, I'm super glad my numbers looked good. And now the appointment craziness begins. I have an appointment with the GD NP every week unless things start to look better with regards to the ketones. And I see my OB more frequently and I will see my endo again soon.

As for the pregnancy, I've hit the uncomfortable stage. This last week I have been uber exhausted. It takes quite a bit of energy to get stuff done. And having a toddler wipes me out by the end of the day. Also, if I walk too much my feet and legs start killing me. My back has started to hurt now too. But I can still sleep, however turning over is a different story. I have to wake up to turn because I can feel the weight of the baby and my uterus as I turn. It's quite uncomfortable. But I'm still very proud of myself for making it to the 3rd tri before dealing with major pregnancy pains, and I'm now at 6 lbs gained so far, and no high blood pressure! I really hope things continue smoothly!

Jacob is 21 months & Big News

Three months 'til Jacob turns 2! Where's my baby?! Seriously, there's only a small part of baby in him. He's so big now. He talks so much, and he understands so much now. Before, I could list the words he was saying, but now I'd be here for awhile. However, my favorite phrase of the moment is, "What'd you do?" He says it when something is out of place or he hears a loud noise. It's so cute and funny. Jacob is more obsessed than ever with Elmo, his favorite show is Elmo's World and following close behind is Yo Gabba Gabba. Seriously, every morning when he wakes up (and after nap) he asks for "Ehmo" and after lunch it's "Yabba Yabba." And if you watch Yo Gabba you know there's a segment on there called Silly (funny?) Faces, and they make funny faces, and Jacob tries to do them. Of course, they look nothing like they're supposed to, but who cares! And he's slowly learning Elmo's song. He's currently in 2T clothing and size 8 shoes. According to our scale, he's weighing in at 30 pounds, and is approximately 33" tall. And Jacob's favorite activity is anything outdoors. Man, if this kid could be outside all day, everyday, he would be so happy. It's a pain to drag him inside. His favorite things to do outside? Pull his wagon around. His grandpa takes him everyday for a walk along with his wagon, and they pick flowers. Oh, and bubbles are still a lot of fun for him.

And the biggest news of all...he's in his toddler bed!!! We finally got his sister's mattress and moved his into his bed. At first, he was a little apprehensive, but now he knows it's his bed and he likes the bees on it. He's still sleeping with a binky, and his monkey lovie. Hey, I've got to pick my battles. I figured I'd drop the binky after his sister arrives, and we get a hold of potty training. Ahhh, that's another one! He says he as "poo poo" when he goes #2! I know he's going to be ready soon, and I've bought a potty, but I feel like there's going to be too many new changes in these next few months to throw potty training into the mix. I'm hoping around October or November to start. But hey, who knows. Maybe we'll start sooner or later. It's amazing to see the little person he's growing into, and it's unbelievable how much a little person could make a person so happy and love them more than the world.

Ultrasound Update

Last week I had a growth ultrasound to check baby girl's weight. So far, she's right on target. She was weighing in at 3 pounds when I was just a few days over 28 weeks. The doctor said that was great, and as we finished up our appointment, the doctor started to discuss Jacob. He had come along for the appointment. She asked how I delivered him, and I told her a planned c-section. The c-section was planned because my last OB thought he was too big and I was narrow. However, I told her in the end I had high blood pressure that ultimately led to a c-section. Immediately, the doctor wanted to know where this OB was from, and if it was from my current hospital, I told her he was not. She explained to me that the reasons given for the c/s were not valid. She then asked if I wanted to try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after c/s), I told her, yes, please! She said there is a chance for a VBAC, however there are a few factors we have to keep in mind, I may have high BP towards the end, and the baby may be big due to GD. However, the doctor said that a few weeks before baby girl is due, she will do another growth u/s to assess the possibility of a VBAC. I am really hoping and praying that I can have a VBAC, ultimately it depends on baby girl, and how she and I are doing. Her health and my health are way more important. But, I'm trying to keep my mind off of it since I have a few months to go. Other than that, baby girl was pretty big so the doctor and the u/s tech couldn't get a good picture of her like they had months before. And we're finally getting our 3D u/s done, hopefully soon, but in a few weeks for sure!

For now, here's a pic from the U/S:

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all you momma's out there enjoy your day!

DIY Nursery Letters

I love 'em! And I love the ones I got for Jacob, however I paid around $10 a letter, that's $50 for his name. But they were custom painted and in a font I liked. Well, I knew I wanted to do the same for Isabella too, but I didn't want to pay at least $80 for her name. Ah, no thank you! So I did a search for ideas, and I found a ton of tutorials for letters. Here's what I did:

Wooden letters - $25 for 8 @ 8"
Scrapbook paper - 3 pieces @ 25¢ each
Mod Podge - $3
Ribbon - $4
Ladybugs - 5 @ 25¢ each
Acrylic paint - On hand
Total= $34 or $4.25 a letter

1. I bought my letters on Ebay. I price compared with a few sites, and sellers, and found one that worked for me. I was also looking for a specific font. The same font I used for Jacob's letters.

2. Once you get your letters, depending if they're finished or not, you might need to paint them. I actually only painted the edges white. You may also have to sand them down a little, I didn't. Too lazy.

3. I then figured out which pattern I wanted for each letter and traced each letter on to the paper accordingly. Don't forget to trace them backwards. I did it the wrong way, once. Then, cut them out with scissors.

4. Now get out your mod podge, and your sponge brush. I painted the front of the letter with podge, and placed the paper on top. After the podge dried, I painted a layer of podge on top of the paper and on the sides of the letter. After that layer dried, I applied a second layer to the paper.

5. After the letters had dried, I cut my ribbon for each letter, and hot glued it to the back of each letter.

6. This step is definitely optional, but I wanted to add embellishments. I chose ladybugs and bows. I just placed them where I wanted them and hot glued them on. Piece of cake!

And viola, they're done! And for a lot less than I've seen on the web. Also, these could be made for a few bucks. I've seen people use card board or foam letters. Be creative!

28 Weeks/3rd Trimester: My Belly

Ahhh, I'm in my final trimester! 12 weeks until she arrives! 3 months! Wow! Okay, okay, enough with the exclamation points. As I go into my 3rd tri, things aren't so bad. After being diagnosed with GD I was really down, but after speaking with doctors and working on my diet, I've found that I can eat what I used to eat just in smaller portions and I need to snack more. It's such a relief. I don't feel restricted at all, however I know this can change as the baby gets bigger and my body produces more hormones. Anywho, other than that, I'm still sleeping well through the night. I make an average of 2-3 trips to the bathroom at night, and the leg cramps aren't so bad. By this time with Jacob, I was battling high blood pressure, and I'd gained a ton of weight...literally. My ankles were sooo swollen too, but they've yet to swell, of course hot weather is around the corner. And I've had a burst of energy these last few days, and it has allowed me to get some stuff done for my sprinkle and some of Isabella's stuff finished. Jacob's going to be making the switch to his bed as soon as his mattress is delivered, hopefully by the end of this week. My goal is to finish their room by June.

And for the first time since I've revealed my Jacob tummy (back in June '08), I am now sharing my Isabella tummy. My 28 week bump, or hump. So, for those of you that don't know, I am a plus sized girl. And when some plus sized girls get pregnant, we get a "B" bump, now what that means is, that for awhile or for the duration of pregnancy, instead of having a basketball tummy we have a tummy that's shaped like a "B." I had it for Jacob, but towards the end I actually got a round watermelon tummy. Currently, I have the "B" tummy, and I don't know how round I'll get, but we'll see. We also don't get a belly button that pops out, it gets close but not quite there. I'm kind of glad 'cause it kind of grosses me out. But I remember learning about the "B" belly with Jacob when I was just a couple months pregnant. I wanted to know what a plus sized belly looked like, and I found that we get "B" bellies. You can see my current 28 week "B" belly, and a comparison belly shot of both bellies below:

28 weeks


Left: Isabella 28 wks - Right: Jacob 28 wks