And The Winner Is...

HALEY GRACE BOSS

or 

HAILEY GRACE BOSS

Update: We chose Haley Grace

Like the inspiration of framing our baby girl's name!

A lovely name for our beautiful baby girl! I know a lot of people keep the name of their baby a secret until the end, but for me the idea of already having so many people praying about my little one by name sounds just right! 

Rob and I had no difficulty at all in deciding on the name of our little girl. However, we are still caught up on deciding the spelling. I think I have had the same three names picked out for my future children since the beginning of college, 2 girl names and 1 boy name. (Not saying we will have three, but I just wanted to have some options!) Anyways when it came time to talk about the names, I started to bring up additional options. I just felt like that was what I should be doing. Rob was like wait, I thought we already decided the names! After knowing how happy he still was with the names we had come up with, the more we both were confident that Haley/Hailey was our baby girl's name. 

Rob and I have been together so long, it is crazy to think of all our daydreaming and planning finally coming into reality. We had talked about kids and names but now having it all come true, couldn't be a bigger blessing! 

Another cute way to highlight her name

Rob has really been feeling some of Haley's/Hailey's squirming around lately, and that makes me so happy. Finally to be able to share a little bit of what has been going on inside my belly! I love being able to call our little girl by name, and talk to her during the day. Now, don't think I am crazy! Haley/Hailey can already hear me, and the more she learns my voice, the more of a familiar sound it will be for her. (At least that is what I have read/heard...so if that's crazy then okay, maybe that makes me a little crazy too!)

How far along? 21 1/2 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: about 15 lbs (But honestly haven't weigh myself in awhile!)
Maternity clothes? I don't know if there's going back at this point!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Still love it, but not so dependent
Best moment this week: Shopping for little girl's clothing with Rob!
Miss Anything? Life has been too great to be missing anything right now!
Movement: Lots...can't wait to start being able to see movements
Food cravings: Carbs and Candy corn
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope :)
Gender: It's a Girl! <3
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? Still In!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy 
Weekly Wisdom: Now that I have started to get my energy back, I think it is really important to keep doing fun things with Rob. A lot of things revolve around the baby now, but Rob always deserves my full attention and love! 
Looking forward to: Decorating Haley's/Hailey's room

Our Baby Girl

I can't wait to have a little baby girl! Rob and I found out on August 30, 2012 that our first child will be a sweet, beautiful, precious baby girl...well hopefully all those adjectives will fit!

I'm not sure that I can fully describe the mid-pregnancy ultrasound experience, but I can tell you that it is one of the most incredible things I have witnessed.

We had a great doctor from U-M that walked us through everything that we were seeing. You can see so much growth between your first ultrasound and at the midway mark. We got to see the blood being pumped from the heart throughout the body, ten fingers and ten toes, the round little belly, and button nose. They can tell a great deal about the baby's development so early on nowadays. You can see the different lobes of the brain, the size, the spine, and chambers of the heart. And you can see (the answer to the question everyone's been asking) three little dots or two lines to determine if it is a girl or boy. You really feel like your getting to know your baby already!

Now knowing the sex, Rob and I were finally able to register for our little girl! It was so much fun picking out the little things she will need as she grows up. The only tough thing for us was picking out the bedding! This seems to always be the hold up between us. The same thing happened when we went to register for our wedding. After weeks of research, we were finally able to find something we both liked. Thank goodness!... Hopefully our baby girl with like pink and polka dots!

How far along? 20 1/2 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: about 15 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yes, and just bought a new pair of leggings and jeans!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Not quite as sleepy as before!
Best moment this week: Finding out the baby's sex
Miss Anything? My flat tummy!
Movement: A ton! Rob has just been able to start to feel the baby move. I even am starting to feel some big movements...almost like she's doing somersaults!
Food cravings: Steak and potatoes...which is back to normal for me :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really
Have you started to show yet: My bump is starting to pop out... 

Gender: It's a Girl! <3
Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Definitely been more emotional and sensitive these past weeks
Weekly Wisdom: Do something to feel pretty! It gets harder to feel attractive despite what your husband tells you, when your body is undergoing some major changes.
Looking forward to: Collecting more clothing for our baby girl...skipping newborn things though, because she's likely to be bigger if she is anything like her dad! Ha

Heartbeat

Recently I had a doctor's appointment at week 16 1/2. My first of many check-in visits, so I didn't know what to expect. I was not so secretly hoping that I would get another ultrasound and see little baby boss. No such luck, but I did get to hear the heartbeat! It was very strong and fast! (At least compared to mine) The nurse told me that it sounded like I had a very happy baby. How the nurse was able to determine this, I have no idea, but I'd like to think bb (baby boss) is comfy in there.

Since Rob wasn't able to come to this visit, my dad came, waited in the lobby for support, and treated me to some breakfast afterwards. Thanks Dad! Immediately after the visit, I called my husband to tell him about hearing the heartbeat. "That's awesome babe. What did it sound like?" he asked me. I informed him it was just like any heartbeat but faster, but not being able to give him a better answer bugged me all day. By the time I came home after work, I figured out how to explain better. 

Obviously, I needed to impersonate the sound....I tried to add the swooshing sound that came across. I had thought I had done a pretty good job, and mentally patted myself on the back. My husband just stared at me for a little bit..."Our baby sounds like a train?" he said with a grin, while suppressing his chuckle as best he could. Well, I guess he will just have to wait until next time!!

If bb cooperates we should know the sex of by August 30th!

How far along? 17 1/2 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: about 10 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yes, but this cold weather is informing me it's shopping time again!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: One of my favorite activities
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat
Miss Anything? Biggby's Mocha
Movement: Lots in the last couple of days. I think baby loves dancing because there is always lots of movement during my car ride home!
Food cravings: Still wanting candy corn and candy pumpkins...Couldn't find any at the store the other day. I'm outraged. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not particularly this week
Have you started to show yet: Bump is definitely noticeable now!
Rob's Gender prediction: Boy

My Gender prediction: Girl

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy but emotional on a dime
Weekly Wisdom: Take a bubble bath! I had the best bath the other day. Totally relaxed me and helped with my back pain. 
Looking forward to: Finding out the sex!

Tape, Paint, Repeat!

16 weeks and counting! Time has been going by so quickly that I am so glad I have a proactive husband who has insisted on painting and starting to set up the baby's room. We spent a lot of time this week picking out paint, moving around furniture, taping, painting, painting more coats, and then resetting up the things we have already for the baby's room.

You might be curious how we decided what color to paint when we don't even know the gender! Well for us it wasn't that hard to come to an agreement. First off, our room was a dark forest green, and we both agreed that this wouldn't work for our newest addition. We opted for a light neutral color, coastal beige to be exact, that would brighten up the room and be calming. All the room's color will come from pictures, wall art, rugs, curtains, bedding, etc. This will hopefully save us down the line from having to paint many times!

I volunteered to do most of the taping, minus the high stuff, since I knew I wouldn't do much of the painting. Let me just tell you, for all those women out there thinking that taping is easy and a good way to get out of having to paint, you're not exactly right! I felt a bit of pressure (self-derived) on making sure the tape was exactly on the edge of the molding. I didn't want it to be my fault if we got paint on the molding or if there was a bunch of color along the edge.

Once taping was done, we moved on to painting the next day. Neither Rob nor I have ever painted before so we were a tad nervous about messing up! I helped do all the edges, that I could reach, and around the door frame, closet, windowsill, and electrical outlets. After that, all the painting was left up to Rob. He did a fantastic job and was such a great sport about it! First coat went up and an hour or so later the second coat went up! And then after reviewing the walls, two-three sides got a third coat. I am so proud of the job we did and I can't wait until we learn what colors we will be accessorizing with!

Make sure you check below for a movement update!

How far along? 16 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 9-10 lbs
Maternity clothes? Of course! Starting to think about picking up some jeans for the fall with this cold weather!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Can't get enough!
Best moment this week: Seeing all our baby's things in the newly painted room
Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? Soft cheeses!
Movement: I think so! Last night I felt little flutters by my belly button. It was so neat thinking I was feeling our little baby!
Food cravings: String cheese, candy corn and those candy pumpkins
Anything making you queasy or sick: Garbage smells make me sick way easier
Have you started to show yet: Small bump in the belly and my growing bust might be a give away too!
Rob's Gender prediction: Boy

My Gender prediction: Girl

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Still happy but tired by night
Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy all the tasks about becoming a parent. Painting could have easily been seen as a chore but my husband and I had fun doing it. I don't think I'll ever forget it!
Looking forward to: My doctor's appointment next week. I'm hoping I'll get to see the baby again.

Little Baby Boss & Me

Little Baby Boss at 10 1/2 Weeks

So much has happened since you all have last heard from me: new job, new job for hubby, and a little baby boss inside my belly. That's right... if you haven't heard by now, here it is: Rob and I are expecting our first child! I can't say that I could be any happier!

The story of how I found out is a bit long, but interesting all the same, so I will try to give the short version. Basically my life changed completely in a matter of 48 hours! When Rob got back from Sweden, we decided to start trying to expand our little family. Then, I got a final interview with the University of Michigan, and we decided to stop. I took a test way before my missed period, and it was negative. Later that same week, I got a phone call and was offered the job! An events manager position at the University of Michigan, which is a huge honor to a Maize & Blue fan like me. My husband and I were going out to celebrate over dinner with my parents, and I told him, "You know I am just going to take another test to make sure. So we don't have any surprises down the line." 

And a wonderful surprise it was! But just to make sure I took another test...and then another! Can't be anymore positive! Well, that is until we took another digital test after my missed period. And then it was positive for sure, even for Rob! Our family has been so excited for us, and I was happy to find out that my new Supervisor was equally thrilled for us. 

Currently I am 15 weeks and little baby boss is apparently the size of an orange. I finally have a bump that shows through my tops. I will have lots of baby updates as the weeks go along, that I plan on sharing with all my loved ones who are reading. 

Another blogger did a great job keeping people up to date by answering a few questions weekly, and I have decided to imitate this idea. So here we go...

Announcement at Work

How far along? 15 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 8 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yes! Needed to pick up work pants, jean shorts, and some really cute tops. I'm not sure how I will ever go back to having to wear pants with a zipper.
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: So incredibly tired by about 9:00pm
Best moment this week: Rob putting together furniture for the baby's room.
Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? Coney dogs, deli fresh sandwiches
Movement: Not yet
Food cravings: Depends on the day
Anything making you queasy or sick: Meat is still on the iffy list
Have you started to show yet: A little bump! :) Finally came in this past week
Rob's Gender prediction: Boy

My Gender prediction: Girl
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy but exhausted
Weekly Wisdom: Pamper yourself somehow. My husband treated me to a pedicure and it brighten up my whole week, plus my toes look cute!
Looking forward to: Getting a bigger bump, setting up the baby's room, & finding out the gender! :)