Monday, October 31, 2016

22 Weeks



How far along?  22w2d

Total weight gain?  I finally actually weighed myself again and I'm about 129, my pre pregnancy weight was about 116 so I'm at the 14-15 pound weight gain.

Maternity Clothes? Yes, 100% maternity pants at all times, leggings, jeans, regular yoga or sweat pants still fitting just fine.  I did get some maternity tops from a friend and also some regular (but very stretchy) long sleeve tee's from Target (as pictured above) that will stretch with me as I grow.

Stretch Marks?  None.

Sleep?  Still sleeping really well minus Sunday night.  I'm pretty sure I got like an hour of sleep that entire night, but other than that sleep has been great. 

Best moment this week?  Feeling more and more kicking every day which is amazing.  I can see it sometimes too and I'm still trying to get Joe to see it, of course when you want her to kick she doesn't, already stubborn I suppose.

Miss anything?  Nothing much, alcohol is all I've really had to give up in its entirety and I don't miss that terribly, although mimosas are still sounding pretty effing awesome.

Movement?   Yes, movement is definitely increasing.

Food cravings?  Sweets galore, thankfully it's Halloween!  Other than that, nothing too crazy.  I think Joe has actually had some pregnancy sympathy cravings, he drank straight out of the pickle jar the other day & put hot sauce on his eggs which I've never in 9 years seen him do...

Anything make you queasy or sick?  Not a darn thing!

Gender?  Girl

Labor Signs?  No
Symptoms?  Nothing really, getting harder to bend over that's for sure!  Some round ligament pain too if I move a certain way, or sneeze.

Belly button in or out?  In

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Happy or Moody most of the time?  Happy for the majority of the time!

Looking forward to?  We FINALLY get to have our ultrasound on Friday!  I cannot wait!  It's been a long 11, almost 12 weeks since we last saw her!  I can tell she is growing well because my bump is definitely growing & I'm feeling her moving so I think she is on track and where she should be, however, it's very hard not to worry when you don't get to see them as often.  Our appointment is 8am Friday!  I also got all of her clothes hung on hangers so now Joe can put the rods up in the closet and I can start assembling the closet.  I also got my first shipment of diapers from my Amazon Family subscription.  I got 252 diapers from $25 which is pretty awesome.  The sale was only on size 1, but I know we will need all sizes so I went ahead in ordered them.

Monday, October 24, 2016

21 Weeks



How far along?  21w2d

Total weight gain?  Maybe 10 pounds

Maternity Clothes? Maternity jeans/leggings for the win.  I'm still fitting into most of my tops as everything is made extra flowy these days.  I did order 1 more pair of maternity jeans (a boot cut pair since every other pair I have is skinny) and a sweater from Old Navy along with a poncho and sweater from Motherhood Maternity.  I had $30 in ON super cash so of course I had to get something with that and MM had a 25% off fall sale on full priced items.

Stretch Marks?  None.

Sleep?  Sleeping great for the most part.  I have been diffusing lavender EO in my diffuser pretty heavily these last few weeks so I've been sleeping really well.

Best moment this week?  Another pretty uneventful week which I think is a good thing.  Joe was able to feel her kick for the first time.  I washed all of the baby clothes that I had so I could get a start on those.  I ordered tiny baby hangers from Target so I can get things hung up (how do you fold onesises??!?!?) and put away.  I ordered a few more decorations for the nursery from Etsy and continued to work on my registry, I'm linking it for you guys, tell me if I'm missing anything!!  Ps. I already have some items like a boppy, a stroller, etc. so there are a few things missing already purchased. 

Miss anything?  I'm gunna go with mimosas... I could really go for a couple mimosas right now.

Movement?   Yes definitely feeling movement!  Even actually seeing some of her harder kicks which is really pretty amazing.

Food cravings?  Like I said last week, I really haven't had any crazy cravings.  Lots of sugary stuff, which always sounds good to me, pregnant or not!

Anything make you queasy or sick?  Not a darn thing!

Have you started to show yet?  Yep, the bump is here to stay.

Gender?  Girl

Labor Signs?  No

Belly button in or out?  In

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Happy or Moody most of the time?  Happy for the majority of the time!

Looking forward to?  Still just counting down the days til 11/4 when we get to finally see her again.  I think it's such b/s that they don't check her more often in the beginning, but whatever I guess.  I can't wait to see how big she has gotten. 

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Black River Boutique


So some of you may already been familiar with Melissa from her blog Loving Life Moore or if you've been around the blogging world for awhile, you may even know her as I Swim for Oceans.  Melissa and I have been blogging friends for a few years now and she has always been one of our biggest supporters. She is a super sweet mother of 2 married to a military man and currently living in Black River, New York.  A little over a year ago she started Black River Boutique where she sells custom and organic baby goods like minky blankets, sensory blankets, teethers, burp cloths, bibdanas and more.  She is so creative and all of her products are made with lots of love and are of great quality.

When we were in the beginning stages of our donor cycle I got my first ever minky blanket gifted to me from Melissa and I was so hopeful that I'd actually be able to use it one day, and now it sits in baby girls nursery waiting her arrival.  Joe has even commented on how sweet of a gift it was and on how awesome the blanket felt.  Now I have 3 of them and I seriously cannot wait to wrap up our beautiful bundle of joy and snuggle her to death in these soft blankets.


You can find her on Instagram or you can go directly to her Etsy shop to browse all of her wonderful products.  As a bonus she is offering free shipping to Baby Ridley Bump readers.  Just use code LittleBabyRidley at check out now until 10/31!









Wednesday, October 19, 2016

20 Weeks - Halfway There!




How far along?  20w3d

Total weight gain?  Still around 8-9 pounds

Maternity Clothes? Maternity jeans/leggings for the win

Stretch Marks?  None.

Sleep?  Sleeping great for the most part

Best moment this week?  Really starting to feel movement this week.  I can’t wait til it becomes a little stronger & more consistent so that Joe can feel it.  We (and when I say we I mean I) got the dresser put together this past weekend and I am just in love with the furniture.  Joe is still having a hard time with the fact that the set does not match (grey crib & then wood finish/greyish nightstand and dresser) but once it all comes together it's going to look amazing.  Joe has been working his ass off for the last several weeks (this is their busy time) plus doing a couple drywall jobs on the side so he has been spending his one day off of work working which is why I assembled the dresser myself.  I am really glad that I decided to start getting the room together earlier than later because I don't want to be in my last few weeks of pregnancy still waiting to put furniture together.  My MIL also got us the crib mattress and I ordered the crib sheet so little pieces at a time coming together & making the room feel more and more finished!

Miss anything?  Wine is still sounding pretty good…

Movement?   Yes definitely feeling movement!

Food cravings?  I never really had any crazy cravings this entire pregnancy.  I have felt pretty much normal the entire time which I am so thankful for.  I guess lately I’ve been on a bit of a baked potato kick!

Anything make you queasy or sick?  Not a darn thing!

Have you started to show yet?  Yep, the bump is here to stay.

Gender?  Girl

Labor Signs?  No

Belly button in or out?  In

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Happy or Moody most of the time?  Happy for the majority of the time!

Looking forward to?  Really cannot wait til November 4th for our anatomy scan.  It’s been so long since we have seen baby girl, I’m sure she has grown so much!  Also looking forward to this weekend and next as we have a couple of Halloween festivities to attend and of course I incorporated my pregnancy into my costume!

20 Weeks - Halfway There!




How far along?  20w3d

Total weight gain?  Still around 8-9 pounds

Maternity Clothes? Maternity jeans/leggings for the win

Stretch Marks?  None.

Sleep?  Sleeping great for the most part

Best moment this week?  Really starting to feel movement this week.  I can’t wait til it becomes a little stronger & more consistent so that Joe can feel it.  We (and when I say we I mean I) got the dresser put together this past weekend and I am just in love with the furniture.  Joe is still having a hard time with the fact that the set does not match (grey crib & then wood finish/greyish nightstand and dresser) but once it all comes together it's going to look amazing.  Joe has been working his ass off for the last several weeks (this is their busy time) plus doing a couple drywall jobs on the side so he has been spending his one day off of work working which is why I assembled the dresser myself.  I am really glad that I decided to start getting the room together earlier than later because I don't want to be in my last few weeks of pregnancy still waiting to put furniture together.  My MIL also got us the crib mattress and I ordered the crib sheet so little pieces at a time coming together & making the room feel more and more finished!

Miss anything?  Wine is still sounding pretty good…

Movement?   Yes definitely feeling movement!

Food cravings?  I never really had any crazy cravings this entire pregnancy.  I have felt pretty much normal the entire time which I am so thankful for.  I guess lately I’ve been on a bit of a baked potato kick!

Anything make you queasy or sick?  Not a darn thing!

Have you started to show yet?  Yep, the bump is here to stay.

Gender?  Girl

Labor Signs?  No

Belly button in or out?  In

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Happy or Moody most of the time?  Happy for the majority of the time!

Looking forward to?  Really cannot wait til November 4th for our anatomy scan.  It’s been so long since we have seen baby girl, I’m sure she has grown so much!  Also looking forward to this weekend and next as we have a couple of Halloween festivities to attend and of course I incorporated my pregnancy into my costume!

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Our Sweet Peach has a Name...



Picking something as important as a name is kind of scary if you think about it.  It’s something that sticks with that person forever, sure there are ways to go about changing it if you really want to, but our names are something we get no say in.  I wasn’t sure how I felt about having that kind of responsibility for my child.  When it came to names we knew if it was a boy it was going to be Joseph Preston Ridley III.  Joe is a Jr. and he was/is set on a JPR III someday.  When it came to a girl he had no ideas and I had a list but I wasn’t really super thrilled or excited about any of them.  

I never really felt like a name had to have some uber significance, just so long as it was cute & maybe a little different, and sounded good with “Ridley” and wasn’t something that my kid would get made fun of for in the future then I would be happy.  Then one day my mom and I were kind of talking about names and Augusta came up because that’s where we went for treatment, then Georgia came up and I thought it was nice but wasn’t really sure about the whole “state” as a name.  Then Joe told me his mom mentioned the name Georgia as well.  I really wanted June for a middle name because that was my grandma’s and once I heard “Georgia” a few times then put it together with June, my mind was made up & there was no going back.

Joe and I both really love it and I honestly cannot think of a better, more suitable name for our first born daughter.  For one thing, it’s classy and timeless, reason enough for me right there.  But it also has insurmountable significance to us, it’s where our donor lives (duh!), it’s where she was “conceived”, and it’s always going to have a special place in our hearts.  Combine that with June, my grandma’s name, and also the month that the entirety of this DEIVF cycle (I’m talking donor starting meds, being monitored, having retrieval, embryos growing, embryo transfer, TWW, and first 2 positive betas) took place.  I’m not sure that I know anyone with a more significant name than our daughter.  

We shared the name with most of our family and friends early on, even before we knew the gender Georgia June was our number one contender.  Now that we know for certain and are about halfway through this pregnancy we felt comfortable sharing.  Lots of people asked after I shared a picture on Instagram of the assembled nightstand with a light up letter “G” on it.  Joe said he was fine sharing publicly which gave me a reason to share the beautiful custom piece I had made for the nursery with her name on it.  

I know a lot of people like to keep the names a secret for various reasons, but for me I just cannot contain the excitement that I have had about every part of this experience so far.  I want every single person I know to relish in the joy that we are feeling.  I want to sprinkle that joy and excitement around like glitter to every single person that I can.  Right now this world is a scary place filled with dirty politicians, idiots dressed as clowns terrorizing communities, devastating weather, and so much more that I just cannot help but put these happy vibes out into the world in the hopes that someone will feel some of the joy that I am feeling right now.  

We cannot wait to meet our little Georgia peach.  

Monday, October 10, 2016

19 Weeks!





How far along?  19w2d

Total weight gain?  Still around 8-9 pounds

Maternity Clothes? Yes, maternity clothes in full force, pants especially, jeans & leggings so far.  I have worn a few tops, but honestly you'd never even know they were maternity tops.
Stretch Marks?  None.

Sleep?  Sleep has been pretty good.  My cat and dog have been waking me up more often then my body has been.

Best moment this week?  Got to finally see my midwife this past week, she was so happy for us.  We listened to the heart beat beating away in the 130s & 140s.  I did some quad blood work that tests for spina bifida and other neuro/spinal disorders & had some general blood work done that I didn't have done early on (testing for HIV & other STD's, blood type, etc.) and we finally got to schedule our 22 week ultrasound for November 4th, I cannot wait to see how big she has gotten! 

Miss anything?  I could really go for a glass of wine.

Movement?   I am pretty sure I'm finally starting to feel her kick too.  At first I thought it was the Metamucil and stool softeners that I've had to take so much of lately.  Progesterone production drastically slows down the digestive system during pregnancy and I'm definitely feeling it.  Working on my 25-30 grams of fiber intake per day.  At first I thought some of the rumblings were because of that combination of meds & supplements, but now I'm convinced it's her.

Food cravings?  Cravings have pretty much subsided.  I just like all food in general.

Anything make you queasy or sick?  Not a darn thing!

Have you started to show yet?  Yep, the bump is here to stay.

Gender?  Girl

Labor Signs?  No

Belly button in or out?  In

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Happy or Moody most of the time?  Happy for the majority of the time!

Looking forward to?  I have another prenatal massage this week and I'm really looking forward to it.  Also this coming Saturday we will hit 20 weeks & already been at the halfway point of this pregnancy!  I cannot believe how fast the time is going.  Joe asked me about some free weekends over the next couple of months (he has some sort of surprise for me) and I was going through the calendar realizing how quickly Thanksgiving and Christmas are approaching!  Time is seriously flying!

Tuesday, October 04, 2016

18 Weeks




How far along?  18w3d

Total weight gain?  About 8 pounds (I’m weighing about 124 pounds right now)

Maternity Clothes?  Living in maternity jeans every day and leggings.  Some maternity tops but mostly just my regular tops.

Stretch Marks?  No

Sleep?  Sleep has been better.  Still getting up several times to go to the bathroom, still having some crazy dreams, restless legs sometimes, but nothing really too terrible.

Best moment this week?  This past week FLEW by.  I was so busy running around after work every day that I just blinked at it was the weekend.  My step-mom and dad bought us the dresser for the nursery which should be on the way this week.  I need to get the nightstand and then all the big pieces (besides the rocker) will be bought.  I also got think to hear baby girls heartbeat at my doctors appointment yesterday, beating away at 130-140 bpm.  Our 22 week ultrasound is scheduled for a month from today!  

Miss anything?  Actually, not really.

Movement?  Nothing yet, but hopefully soon. 

Food cravings?  Sweets always sound good.  Other than that nothing too crazy.

Anything make you queasy or sick?  Not a darn thing!

Have you started to show yet?  Yep, the bump is here to stay.

Gender?  Girl

Labor Signs?  No

Belly button in or out?  In

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Happy or Moody most of the time?  Generally feeling happy, sometimes moody, but I think that’s just part of being a chick.

Looking forward to?  Feeling some movement, hitting the halfway mark, and seeing baby girl at the 22 week anatomy scan. 

 
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