"Who is this person emailing me from I Love Lucy Jean?"
I know; I know. I have been completely MIA. It is probably the worst ever - a 21 day hiatus! Well, first, my boss resigned and left; so, it has been really stressed at work. Second, Heath's grandfather passed away, very unexpectedly. It really threw all of us back...Therefore, it hasn't been the typical month at all. Hopefully things will get back to routine fairly soon.
I owe you three photos of my week updates. However, I only have two.
Scrolling between those photos makes me think two things; either I grew A LOT in just a week, or I should never wear yellow. I am thinking it is the yellow... :{
I also thought I would share this photo of me and my Granny. :) You can see Olive in the photo too. haha.
How far along?
Well, I am almost 28 weeks (27 weeks and 6 days). So, it has been a long while since I've updated you. I have 85 days left, or just 12 weeks and 1 day! Yippee! :) However, I don't know how much bigger I can get!
This big, you say?
Oh yeah. Looking at this picture doesn't make me feel quite as bad about my current state. Whew!
Baby is the size of a...
Well, we went from the length of an ear of corn, to rutabaga (whatever that is), to the length of an English hothouse cucumber, to now a head of cauliflower. In normal terms, she is 14.4 inches long and anywhere between 2 to 3 lbs! :)
Symptoms:
I am super nesting. I don't know how I am managing to find the energy with my busy, stressful days at work; but, I am somehow managing. This results in my feet and back hurting though. I know that I need to take it easy. Yesterday my feet were so swollen! I wore heels to work and then basically was on my feet until I laid in bed for the night...stupid idea.
I am super constipated too. I think I may have told you that I would stop talking about this, and if I did, sorry. I am going to continue. It is a part of pregnancy, for me that is, unfortunately. My doctor thinks that is why I look so big (besides the fact that I just get big, apparently, and my short torso). She literally thinks I am full of poop. haha. It's a nice sentiment. So, every other day of Miralax is supposed to work things out. She also suggested a suppository. Umm...no thanks. I will try the Miralax.
Finally, on another disturbing note, I have fine hairs all over my baby bump. That never happened with Lucy. The doctor said it was hormones and the good news is that they will likely fall out after Olive arrives. Thank goodness. Hairy and sexy do NOT go together in my book...especially on my stomach. Ga-row-ss.
Anything New?
Besides the hair on my belly?...hmmm.
I am officially out of all of my pants. That is shocking right? Well, I have been wearing my pants unbuttoned, with a belly band for this long. Now, Olive has dropped and I can't do it. :( I had to go to all of the ugly, maternity pants. I need to get more (since all of my maternity clothes were for winter!). So, if you see me and I look not put together at all, that is why. Besides, pregnant women should never look "put-together." Those who do, completely defy logic and physics.
We got out all of Lucy's old clothes the other day. I went through them and put them all away. I still need to hang a lot up. I loved looking through them, especially with Lucy standing next to me. She kept 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over all of the cute, little outfits. I told her that they used to be hers and she just didn't quite understand. She kept holding them up and saying, "Baby Olive's?" It is really sweet. The nursery is finally coming back together and Heath's ironing board has exited. We are getting there...
New with Heath?
He is really, basically the same. I keep waiting for him to react to stuff the same as me, but it doesn't really work. Olive was hiccuping the other night and I yelled to him, "Heath - Olive has the hiccups." He just replied, "Oh, yeah?" I waited like five minutes and then finally asked him, "Did you want to feel? She will probably be done here soon."
I guess pregnancy really is an "old hat" for me and it just isn't as exciting for him this time around. :( Besides Lucy is such a daddy's girl (I mean it! It is bad!), that I don't think he can imagine having two little girls crawling all over him on the floor.
The other night, during one of my nesting fits, he mentioned that he was the "primary bottle maker" when Lucy was little. It peeved me pretty good. I think he knew it; but, it seemed unintentional. I remember clearly getting up on my nights with Lucy and making my own bottles. I was really sad that he gave me such little credit when Lucy was an tiny baby. I really thought I took on 50%, if not more back then. Back then, Lucy wasn't a daddy's girl
yet. Either way, I thought it was a pretty sad thing to tell a pregnant woman. :(
New with Lucy?
She got to feel Olive kick. She loves it! :) It makes my heart want to burst too. She gets up into our bed, tries to pull my shirt up and puts her hand on my tummy. She will talk to Olive and always uses an even higher pitched voice. It is so adorable; I could just cry. When Olive kicks, she always gasps and tells me all about it. I just know that she will be a GREAT big sister.
She has come to terms with the nursery too. She calls it Olive's room and calls the crib, Olive's crib. I don't foresee any issues with that part. Attention and binkies? That is a-whole-nother story.
Anything else?
Well, we have a 3D/4D ultrasound schedule for July. I can't wait. Olive better still be a girl, or we will have to do a lot more work! haha.
Talk to you soon. Hopefully sooner than 21 days!
We use this every time we put dishes in the dishwasher. It has become a permanent fixture. Unless you hand wash or boil the nipples for bottles (which we did every once in a while), it is impossible to keep them from flipping over in the dishwasher. Then they collect water and need to be washed all over again. Also, the small parts to bottles and sippy cups sometimes slip through the top shelf in the dishwasher; so, putting them inside is great! We also put Lucy's silverware in the basket!
I had a toy box growing up. So, this is a pretty 'usual' thing in our family. In fact, after I used mine, we gave it to our cousins. Then after they got older, they gave it back to Lucy! :) The box will go in her big-girl bedroom for all of her random, small toys. It is a great storage place and it hides all of the clutter. Plus, the top is a great place for all of her stuffed animals to sit. :)
Lucy used this swing at daycare from the time she could hold her head up, and somewhat sit up on her own. She loved it. In fact, she would sit and swing for a good 20 minutes or so. We hadn't purchased one yet, since winter was coming. But, Lucy just got one for her birthday from Grandma (thanks!). This spring will be filled with swinging. I love the type of latch too; it is near impossible to fall out of. And, it comes in blue and red too.
Santa Claus got Lucy these for Christmas. It is a Lucy favorite and not a must. However, they are great for learning and development. Lucy and Heath play with these almost every night. They stack them and Lucy knocks them over. They yell into them, put them on each other's heads, and even put them on the dogs. The are so simple and cheap; but, they are one toy she plays with the most.
Where would we be without these?! For car rides, they are a must! With dogs who like to steal snacks, they are a must! For babies on the go, they are a must! For babies who get antsy in high chairs, they are a must! Whew! Okay, get my point? They are so helpful!
We weaned Lucy off of her bottles pretty early. Almost as soon as she could hold one on her own, we started to integrate sippy cups. We did it because bottles slowly drip and caused a big mess when Lucy would throw hers down. Sippy cups, or more specifically these cups, don't leak. You have to suck or pinch the nipple for it to leak. We can put her to bed with a cup of water and it is no problem at all. She just throws it down when she is done and it there isn't a big wet stain the next morning. These are what we use; they are made by Munchkin.
These are something you need with an infant too, not just a toddler. However, it seems like we travel a lot more now-a-days. Lucy is finally 'travel-friendly'. Haha. We got this set for both backseat windows in our SUV. They work really well and don't block the view completely. There are only two complaints that I have. 1) The heat warning dot turned white once and never went back. Not a big deal though. 2) The bottom suction cups are either amazing (you can't get them off the window) or they are horrible (you can't get them to stick). I think it has to do with the temperature of the window. In the cold, not so helpful!
Lucy has two music boxes (thanks Mimi!). One is very similar to the one above. It is more of a fun item for Lucy to play with until she falls asleep. The other has 'cry recognition'. It's amazing! We turn it on at night and it plays a lullaby for 15 minutes and then fades out. It even has a light that shines on the ceiling. Then, if Lucy starts crying, it recognizes the pitch and starts playing again for 15 minutes. Sometimes we don't even have to get up with her, the box will comfort her back to sleep! It sucks a lot of batteries; but, it is worth it! Warning: high-pitched chihuahua barking sometimes sets it off too. :{
Heath and I have read that you are not supposed to put your baby in their car seat with a big winter jacket on. It claimed that the car seat isn't being as effective. So, we try not to do this with Lucy. It's tough with Midwest winters! So, we usually bundle her in stocking caps and blankets. With her carrying car seat, it wasn't a problem lugging her back and forth. Now, with her big girl car seat, we can't do that anymore. So, we use one of these little jackets in addition to the blankets (thanks Mimi!).
We used something very similar to this when Lucy a newborn. We used them for formula. You could measure out the formula into these and just throw them in the diaper bag. I highly recommend them for that use! It beats trying to lug around a big container or buy those expensive packets. 
This has saved a lot of bumps on the head! Granted, we aren't as careful because we know the faucet is covered; but, it helps nonetheless. He is great! Lucy likes him, he covers all the sharp parts of the faucet, and she can't pull on the shower knob!
Right now Lucy destroys any book that isn't cardboard. She is in a tearing stage. :( Sad day for my magazines. She loves to look at books and jabber. We joke that she is imitating us reading them to her. Her favorite is 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. It has smaller pages; so, she can turn them easily. And, the colors are vibrant too!
Another baby-proofing item that we got were these, or something similar. There are so many locks out there and we have found that we had to get different ones for different kinds of knobs. Our kitchen and bathroom cabinets have handles and the corner cabinet and TV stand have knobs. So, be careful buying and it will be worth it!
I never really recommended the Bumbo before; sorry about that. I do though. It is a nice addition. However, you really can't have the Bumbo without the tray! Even at one year old, we put Lucy in here for snack time. It is a nice change from the high chair. Plus, she likes being on the floor, next to her toys and the chihuahuas. 
One splurge that is worth it! Okay, they aren't that expensive; but, they are worth the money! These wipes are very soft, softer than diaper wipes. They also have saline in them to help their little noses. And, they smell good. Lucy would cry when we would use tissues or damp cloths. She actually allows these. They also fit nicely in the diaper bag.
I have no idea how Heath and I would have made it through the first month without this holder. Lucy would feel like we were still holding her; therefore, we were actually able to eat every once in a while! Also, when I was breast-feeding, this was a great arm rest. I was able to have a free arm.
This swing plays a heart-beat sound that put Lucy right to sleep when she was a newborn. Also, her car seat is Graco and can be added to the cradle (just take the current one out). So, after car rides, we don't have to wake her; we just put her on the swing cradle and go about our routine.
Heath found this video monitoring system. It is really more like a security camera. We mounted it over her crib. It puts my mind so much at ease. Also, it is not a constant sounding monitor. When it is quiet in the nursery, there isn't any sound omitted. When Lucy cries, the sound kicks on and an alarm goes off. Finally, it hooks up to the television too for a picture in picture view. We will watch a movie and Lucy will be in the corner sleeping like a log.
Just when you think you have enough pacifiers, buy another package. We have already lost 4. We just had to buy some more. Now granted, your baby may not be a binkie baby. Perhaps you could leave them in the package until you know for sure. Lucy sure is and she LOVES them!
This one is clearly on my mind because we are right in the middle of teething! We use this all the time. It calms her down almost immediately.
This is probably, purely a preference thing. My family all uses drop-ins; so, naturally, I did too. But, honestly, we favor these bottles over all our others. It seemed to be the best for not making her gassy as a newborn and now they are the easiest to mix formula in. Making an 8 oz. or 10 oz. bottle in anything else is a mess! 
We decided on not getting a changing table. We just didn't think we'd use it enough to warrant buying one. So, we use changing pads. I have to admit though, we don't use these, above. We use Dollar Store pads - hey, they work! :)
I had Lucy in the dead of winter, so we used this a lot. It was so nice not to be fighting blankets and it didn't lay directly on her face. Plus, it kept her very toasty in there!
I had heard both good and bad things about this product; but, we thought, hey, why not try it out ourselves. Oh, how thankful I am for it! It isn't too ugly to put in Lucy's room, it's short enough to fit in a closet (if need be), and it truly does keep the smell in. I highly, highly, recommend it to anyone, as long as you don't mind buying the refill sacks (about $6 every 6-8 weeks, for us).
I know a lot of people just go from sink bathing to the big tub; but, we enjoy our baby tub. She started as a newborn in the sling and she continues to use it now without. The only issue we have is where to store it. It ends up just staying in the tub; we move it in and out when we take showers. 
This machine started out as Heath and mine, in the master bedroom. I used to live near a highway and silence just doesn't work for me. So, we had this and turned it on every night. It makes just a real hollow-type sound, basically white noise or 'whooshing.' Anyway, we had Lucy sleep in our room for the first two-months. She was next to my side of the bed and the sleepmate on the nightstand. Needless to say, when she made the move to her nursery the machine had to go too. It took us about three nights to figure out that is what she needed to sleep. 
Again, since Lucy was a winter baby, we used a lot of warm items. Because of SIDS, we didn't want her to sleep in the crib with a blanket. Also, Lucy has to have her arms over her head when she sleeps; so, swaddling never worked for us. These were a great was to keep a 'blanket' on her, on cold nights. I just wish they were easier to find!
This is another Lucy favorite. She could chew on this thing for hours. It can also be put in the refrigerator, to cool down like other teethers. Warning - keep bibs on standby; they will drool a LOT.
This system was a great addition to our Graco set. Although we didn't really use the nap area or changing table, we did use the crib aspect. This is where Lucy slept for the first two months and when she stays the night at Mimi's house. She is big enough now that we use it as a play pen; but, she still naps in it occasionally.
I can't forget these! When she was a newborn, I swear she was always gassy! These drops would work within about 10 minutes.
We have two different vibrating chairs, this is one of them. As a newborn, she loved to nap in her chair. It was comforting. Now, she likes to nap in this one because she can play and rock before hand. She'll be playing pretty hard and next thing we know, she's asleep. :)