Week 26

Week 26 is done, done, and done!  This Friday, I will officially be in my third trimester, so I'm both excited and scared at the same time!  The birth is just getting closer and closer...

At this point, strangers don’t really approach me wanting to touch my belly or ask pregnancy questions. I'm kind of shy about the bulging belly and talking about my pregnancy (with strangers), so it hasn't been as awkward as I thought it would be.  What I do notice is that people stare at me all the time, or at least that‘s what it feels like. I’ve also noticed that when people talk to me or walk by me, they never look me in the eye anymore… they always stare at my belly. 

At 6 1/2 months pregnant, I've had no heartburn or indigestion and I hope it stays that way!  Baby Mia actually loves all kinds of foods!  I already know she likes Filipino, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Ecuadorian, and Ethiopian food.  I've heard that the higher the baby is in your belly, the worse the heartburn and indigestion tends to be. 

Baby Mia is so low in my belly and I'm just hoping she doesn't move up any time soon!  In fact, she's so low, that sometimes it feels like her foot or arm is going to come out of my "downstairs" area.  Gross, I know, but it's the weirdest feeling!  People always talk about getting kicked in the ribs... I'm having a much different experience! 

I'm sure that she has her daddy's strong leg muscles because her kicks are very strong!  Sometimes, Jimmy and I just stare at my belly for a few minutes and you can actually see her movements!  It's so amazing to know she's growing and moving in my belly.  Like the timer on a well-cooked turkey, my belly button popped as of last weekend. It looks funny because you can now see a little belly button bump through my shirt.

To work or not to work...

Jimmy and I have enjoyed the life of “D.I.N.Ks” (Double Income No Kids) since after college. Maintaining a work-life-family balance is very important to both Jimmy and I. That’s the main reason we wanted to wait a little longer to start a family. We wanted to be finished with school, settled into our careers, and financially set.  Career-wise, Jimmy and I are doing great!  He got a huge, career changing promotion last November and I'm happy with my fatty job at the National Institutes of Health. 

My employer requested a proposal for my plans to return to work after my maternity leave.  My proposal was pretty complicated, but essentially, I asked to keep my current job, but work part time, just 1-2 days a week.  I was so sure they were going to say "no," call me crazy, and I would just resign. Well........ I had a meeting with my supervisors last week and am so happy to announce that they accepted my proposal for part time work! I am so happy, relieved, and excited! 

I am one lucky gal ;0) I know I'm so lucky because it's nearly impossible to find such a good, professional job, that will let you work part time. Having five days off a week is going to be awesome. Wooo-hooo!  To me, that schedule gives me the best of both worlds!  I will do my best to be a good mom and career woman.  I was hesitant to stop working all together. I guess I’ve been so focused on my career for so many years, that it’s hard to just leave it and not look back. After I take a few months off for my maternity leave, I think two days in the office will be just enough to keep up my skill set, get me out of the house, and keep my career on track. 

Jimmy and I are very hesitant about putting Mia in daycare, but we think 1-2 days a week shouldn't be too bad.  She can learn to share, meet friends, and learn to be social.  It will also be good for her (and mommy) to get out of the house once in a while.  The best part about it, is that if I'm not happy with my schedule and decide that I do want to stay at home full time... I can just quit!

27 1/2 Weeks and

One stretch mark on my thigh :(

My Baby Daddy

Jimmy is going to kill me for this, but here's his new Department of Army photo ;0) What a hottie... he's the cutest medical officer I've EVER seen, ha ha ha!

LT Lehman

Week 25

Month 6 (weeks 25-28), our little Mia is now the size of an Eggplant, one of my favorite vegetables!

According to the "Ultimate Man Guide to Baby Sizes" our little Mia is also as long as a men's Boot.

Week 25, check!  Now that I'm well into my 6th month of pregnancy, Jimmy and I are really stepping up our game and preparing for this baby.  Jimmy put together the crib and changing table this week, so the nursery is actually starting to look like one.  We've also purchased several big baby items: stroller, pack n play, car seat, and bath tub.  We're still trying to decide on a bouncy (Baby Bjorn or Maclaren?) and baby carrier/sling (Baby Bjorn or Ergo?).  After that, I think we're pretty much set on the preliminary necessities.  We are also considering using cloth diapers, so we've been putting a lot of time and effort into researching that and making a decision.  We at least want to try it out and see if it fits in with our lifestyle.

We don't want to go crazy with all the baby stuff.  (Although, it's soooo hard to hold back because baby shopping is so fun!) Our plan is to get the basics and if we find that we need something after the baby is born, then we'll go out and get it as we need it.  Being first time parents, that may be a naive plan, but we just don't want to be stuck with a bunch of stuff that we don't need! 

We found an awesome store appropriately called, Buy Buy Baby.  Although it has a stupid name, they have great baby items there.  We pretty much stopped going to Babies R Us once we found this place.  They have better quality stuff and a better selection.  The stroller and car seat Jimmy picked out (after hours of research) wasn't even sold at Babies R Us, but Buy Buy Baby had them both!  We decided to register there... http://www.buybuybaby.com/.

Another reason we've been starting early with all the baby preparations is our schedule is jam packed!  We've been so busy with guests coming to visit about every other weekend since Jimmy got back in April.  After this weekend, the Lehman Bed and Breakfast will also be hosting friends and family every weekend until after July 4th!  It's funny how we only move 3 hours north and we've had more visitors in the last four months than we've had since Jimmy joined the Army! 

Of course, we love all the company!  We've seen friends that we haven't seen since college (8 years ago) and have been able to keep in touch with our friends nearby at Fort Lee.  In addition, lots of Jimmy's Army buddies come through Walter Reed on occasion to get medical care and there are lots of Army posts in the DC area which give us lots of opportunities to reconnect with our Army friends.  I guess lots of people pass through DC, so we are in a great location. We even have friends moving to the area!  Once Mia is born, it will be even better because she'll be able to meet so many people that have touched our lives over the years.

Week 26 belly shot

I already feel huge...I still have to get through the whole summer!

I usually try to give myself a pedicure every 2 weeks or so. Well, this week, something strange happened... my belly has grown so large that I had a hard time bending over to touch my toes! Yikes! I almost had a breakdown, but was able to get the job done. At the rate I'm going, I think that might be my last do-it-yourself pedicure for a while. Jimmy did bring up the fact that there are always pregnant people at the nail salon getting pedicures, now I know why!

2 cats, 1 bed

You probably can't tell from the picture, but this is a SMALL cat bed.  Rudy, who's a very large cat, is basically on top of Olivia.  Ahhh, sisterly love.

Week 24

Sorry for the late post.  I haven't been feeling well and had a rough weekend.

I am officially done with week 24, yay!  I have mixed feelings about this past week.  I had a few aliments I've had to work through.  The first is hip pain.  I had it for about 2 days, but so happy that it went away.  I've also been really extra tired this week.  Instead of going to the gym, I've been taking naps.  Jimmy says it's okay to take time off from working out, but I'm still not happy with myself.

I can still tell that the baby is really low in my belly.  Her kicks have been getting stronger and more frequent every day, which is exciting.  I've gained about 15 pounds already!  My belly has gotten even hairier (eewww), so I feel like a gorilla.  My belly line has also gotten a lot darker, so you can really tell that it's crooked now!  Also, sometimes, especially after a big meal, my belly button pops out.  I've also noticed that sometimes my fingers swell up for no reason and my feet and hands also get numb very easily. 

I officially start my third trimester in two weeks and I've heard that that's when the real "fun" begins...yay, just in time for the summer.  I have a feeling this is going to be a LONG and tough summer for me. 

Jimmy putting together the Pack n Play... our first big baby purchase!

Of course... Lucy "Snout" thinks it's a new cat bed.

Baby toys are strangely similar to cat toys. This could be a problem.

25 1/2 weeks

I'm now officially 6 months pregnant!

Nephew #2! Colton Alexander

A new addition to the Lehman family... our new nephew!

Colton Alexander

 Born on May 10, 2010

6lbs, 12oz, 20inches long

Baby Colton was born the day after Mother's Day...what a perfect Mother's Day gift!

Julie, Hunter (proud big brother), and Colton

Before Pics...

Mary (5 months), Jimmy (0 months), and Julie (8 months)

Amelia and Colton, cousins in our bellies

At Julie's Baby Shower

Sleeping Snout

The cat that sleeps on her back...

Week 23

Pink, purple, long hair, tutus, lace, pig tails, pony tails, dresses, skirts, ruffles, bows, Hello Kitty, flowers, and butterflies... Now that we've had a week to let it all sink in, we are starting to realize that we are having a baby girl!

Week 23 has been interesting and productive. I'm sorry to say that I don't have a baby size "fruit" or "man object" picture to post this week. Apparently, the baby will be the size of a papaya and mini football until week 25.

A new pregnancy symptom has surfaced! I got two "Charlie horses" in my calf in the middle of the night this week! I was happily sleeping and out of nowhere, my calf muscle felt like it was going to tear off into two pieces. The Charlie horse lasts for a few minutes, but those few minutes are pure agony and pain. Jimmy wakes up and helps me try to massage the muscle, but nothing ever helps. Then my calf hurts for a few days, so sometimes it feels like I'm limping. Argh, it's really annoying...

We've been doing a lot of baby research this week; it's finally about that time to get some baby items! We finally picked out a stroller... it was almost as tough as buying a car, ha ha ha. There are so many to choose from! I'm also glad we started the search early because the stroller we like is backordered for several months. It's called a City Mini by Baby Jogger and we got the red one. It's small, light, easily foldable, sturdy, and easy to push. It also has a car seat attachment (which we also purchased), for newborns, so that's cool. Jimmy has the car seat narrowed down to a few models, so hopefully we'll get that soon too.

Mia's gonna be big pimpin' in her new ride...

I wonder if we can get dubs for the wheels?

Here's the Pac n Play we bought too... we'll use the bassinet feature and keep it in our bedroom for the first few months. It's really easy to move, so we can just wheel it out into the living area as we need it too. Jimmy picked the color. I wasn't too sure about the black, but now that it's in our apartment, it's pretty sleek looking. Jimmy made a good choice!

Jimmy has been reading pregnancy and parenting books, which is very sweet. However, it appears that the daddy themed books are way more interesting and funny that then books I've been reading. He's always cracking up and reading sections out loud to me that are hilarious. It's fun to think about what type of dad he's going to be. He always says that he's going to be very strict, but I know he's a softie at heart.

I've also found that Jimmy is more interested in buying baby clothes than anything else. Since we found out we were having a girl, I've had to drag him out of the baby clothes section. I also came home one day to see him looking up baby girl clothes on the internet. The funniest part was Jimmy telling me how he signed up for email subscriptions to Gymboree, the Gap, and The Children's Place. He was excited to inform me that now we'll get all the coupons and know about all the upcoming sales. Jimmy is so funny... but I'm so thankful he's so involved and interested in baby stuff.

Week 24

After dinner and ice cream belly shot!

Week 22

Miss Mia is now as big as a papaya!

According to the "Ultimate Man's Guide to Baby Sizes" she is also the size of a

Mini Football

Sorry for the late post... now that Jimmy's back in town, my Friday nights have been busy! Week 22 was a memorable week. I had my ultrasound on Friday and I am so excited I now know that we are having a little girl! It's so nice to say "her" and "she" now when talking about her. We also like to call her by her nickname name too, Mia. I think Jimmy and I are still recovering from the shock of finally finding out the gender.

It's been fun telling our family and friends. When I first got pregnant, Jimmy and I were sure that we were having a girl. But then, I took that gender test (at 12 weeks) which gave me a "boy" result. Most of the "old wives tales" also pointed to boy, so eventually, Jimmy and I were sure we were having a boy. Pretty much everyone in my family thought we were having a boy too. In addition, Jimmy's family is heavy in boy department. We were happily surprised!

We've had the name Amelia picked out for like 10 years and we just love the nickname Mia. Jane is part of my name, Mary Jane and it's a custom in the Filipino culture to keep your mother's maiden name, so that's were the Gadingan comes in. It's not hyphenated with Lehman; Gadingan will just be a second middle name. That’s where we got Amelia Jane Gadingan Lehman.

On Friday, we both took the afternoon off after the ultrasound. Since the NIH is just across the street from the hospital, we stopped by to tell my coworkers the good news. It was neat too because I could finally show Jimmy around the campus, show him where I work, and introduce him to my coworkers. After that, we went out to lunch to celebrate. Then... we went SHOPPING! We were mostly just looking, but found a few irresistible girly outfits for Mia. Three out of the four items we bought had cats on them... we are such dorks!

I also finally had to give in and we went bra and underwear shopping too... Jimmy is such a good sport. I think it's cute when he helps me pick out patterns and colors. I didn't want to get cheesy, over-priced maternity underwear, so we just went to Victoria Secret and I got larger size bras and undies. I won't reveal my new bra size, but dang, they are getting huge! The fact that my body is seriously changing is definitely sinking in! I've already gained 14 pounds!!!

I have a new craving, but it's terrible and very unhealthy... ROOT BEEER! It all started when Jimmy and I went out to eat. I usually get water, but we were sharing a drink and he got root beer knowing that I couldn't have caffeine. Well, since that taste, I have been craving it so badly! I told Jimmy that he is such a bad influence on me. Jimmy thinks it cool that Mia craves soda...just like him!

I've still been feeling tired and it doesn't take much to get me tired if I'm not.  I've also noticed that my hands and feet get numb easily.  Sometimes, if I've been up on my feet all day, my fingers feel swollen.  I can tell because at night when I take off my rings, they are really tight.  I can't really tell if my feet/ankles get swollen, but I don't think they've gotten to that point yet.  I have a little redness and tenderness in my cheeks, but I'm not sure if it's because of my new moisturizer or the pregnancy hormones.  

23 weeks

23 1/2 weeks

I'm starting to look very big!

Baby Mia

It's a GIRL!

Amelia Jane Gadingan Lehman

My ultrasound was yesterday and we are proud to announce that we are having a baby girl. We are thrilled, excited, surprised, happy, and everything else in between. We both secretly wanted a girl (but would have been happy with a boy), so we feel so very blessed with our little Mia.

The ultrasound was an interesting experience. The nurse was having a hard time getting pictures because little Mia was moving the whole time. She wouldn't sit still! The worst was that they make you drink 32 ounces of water before the appointment and you can't pee. I was dying; I needed to pee so badly during the appointment! It was hilarious because the nurse was like, "There's the baby's foot, oh, and there's your bladder... and that movement is your baby kicking your bladder!" I thought I was going to pee all over the table!

We happily counted fingers and toes, arms, legs, and examined the kidneys, heart, brain, etc. She is looking good and her heart rate was 154 bpm and she now weighs about 1.1 pounds.

The nurse asked us if we wanted to know the gender and we definitely said yes! Of course, as soon as she said girl, I cried so hard... I'm such a nerd. Jimmy was smiling from ear to ear. As soon I regained my composure, Jimmy and I did a fist bump and started laughing. It was a great moment.

The gender test was wrong... I want my money $29.99 back!

Today, May 1st, is actually our 15 year anniversary.  After a year of being "just friends," Jimmy made the bold move and "asked me out" on this day 15 years ago.  On that note, we've had our baby names picked out for about 10 years, ha ha ha.  It's funny how you think about something for so long and amazing when is actually happens.  I can't tell you all how blessed and lucky we are in life.  Sometimes I have to pinch myself because life is and has been so good for us.