Merry Christmas Baby Stillinger

Baby Stillinger did well for her first Christmas! As you can see from the PILES of clothing she is outfitted for about her first 9 months of onesies, bibs, and baths... It was actually really fun to do the first load of baby laundry, it is sooo small and cute :)

*A note to Baby Stillinger...as you can see from the color in these piles, if you turn out not to be a girl, I will explain to you later why in all your first baby pictures you are wearing pink :)

23 Weeks

 

How far along?  23 weeks

Today is Christmas Eve AND the halfway point in our anniversary; so today we have been married 4 ½ years and by the time we reach 5 years we will have grown to a family :)
Maternity clothes?  It's still a mix...maternity pants or sweatpants and regular and maternity tops
Sleep?  It kind of goes back and forth...I will have some nights I toss and turn and other nights I sleep wonderfully
Best moment last week? Baby Stillinger and I got to meet Lena!!
Movement?  I feel it more and more, although she hasn't cooperated with other people being able to feel the movement
Food cravings? I did raid the cabinets this week for chocolate :) also I have just been eating more in general...
Labor signs? None!
Belly button in/out? In!!
What I miss: Energy, by about 7pm I am just done for the day!
What I am looking forward to: 2011! Not only will that mean I have reached 24 weeks and viability for our baby, but I can say 'we are having a baby THIS year!' Also the nursery is coming along and I may be able to start decorating in the next week or two.
Milestones: She is about 11 inches long and over a pound!

My thoughts: This week Justin and I had a tour of the birth center where we hope to welcome our baby. My insurance will cover this out of hospital birth center 100% so we feel very fortunate to have this option. I will not be able to deliver there if the baby is breech, I need to be induced, or I need to be on any medications to manage gestational diabetes or blood pressure, BUT so far so good and this would be our Plan A. I have really enjoyed the care I have been receiving from the midwives and look forward to this warm and comfortable environment for our birth experience. Justin and I are also signed up for our birth classes in February and March and then we will just wait for the BIG DAY! We also have a pediatrician and since our mom's our providing grandchild care when I go back to work, we feel pretty set on the big stuff going in to the new Year. We are researching cloth diapers and really feel interested in using them for most of our diapers...I'm sure there's lots more to get ready, but so far so good!!

Andrea and Lena :)

Update on Ben

On Saturday I was able to stop by the MaPaw Farm and visit Ben; he is doing terrific! Ben enjoys therapeutic messages, lots of attention, and is kept comfortable with medication management. He has a bed right next to the heater and a blanket for those chillier days. I think he remembered me...or he just really loves anyone who gives him attention :) Either way it was wonderful for me to see him and see that he is doing so well. If you would like more updates on Ben or to see his video go to: sibes.com.

22 Weeks

How far along?  22 weeks
Maternity clothes?  It's still a mix...maternity pants or sweatpants and regular and maternity tops
Sleep?  Overall not bad, this week I had some pain in my left hip which is the side they tell you to sleep on, so there has been tossing and turning to find a comfy position
Best moment last week? A great friend from college welcomed her baby girl this week and so I am really excited for Lena and Rose to have play dates so Andrea and I can enjoy our girls together!
Movement?  I FELT IT!!! It is still sporadic, but getting more distinguishable.
Food cravings?  I did have my donuts this week :) Right now I am drinking lots of milk (especially with Christmas cookies)
Labor signs? None!
Belly button in/out? In!!
What I miss: Running, that's kind of weird for me because I never really liked running to begin with, but now that I can't do it, I kind of want to...ah well
What I am looking forward to: CHRISTMAS! Although she will not be able to unwrap her presents yet, I am sure Rose will have some presents under the tree.
Milestones: The baby is almost 1lb!

My thoughts: I appreciate everyone who has voted that I will have the baby before 40 weeks, 37 is considered full-term, (I am hoping for 38-39). I have instructed my midwife to just tell me I am having a 7lb baby regardless if they believe she is bigger. Mentally I think I can prepare myself to deliver a 7lb baby (please just let me keep going with that). Also as my tummy is growing I have been warned of roaming hands...well I say “ROAM AWAY!” I have no problem with people wanting to feel the baby...so far it's a little hard for other people to feel anything, but you can try anyway :) As our former neighbor put it 'you zigged when you should have zagged', but now that Rose is on her way we are getting excited and I don't mind sharing it with everyone!

Happy Holidays 2010

Well we have never done a Christmas letter before, but now seems like a good time to start...so here it goes!!

I think we would agree that 2010 was a year of some unexpected (but good) changes. First, Heather got a new job. After two and a half years she resigned from Bethany Children's Home as a social worker and is now employed by SAM Inc as a Service Coordinator for Early Intervention in Berks County. The change was definitely sad at times as Heather really enjoyed her coworkers and kids at Bethany, but the change has been good and Heather is enjoying the flexibility of her new job. The second big change, is the biggest and that is the pending arrival of the third member of our family, I guess really she will make us a family! Rose Elizabeth Stillinger is due to arrive on April 22, 2011 and while unexpected, she will be very welcomed and loved :) To make Justin happy here, we did have another addition to our family this year...Ruby the Red VW.

Justin is still working hard on remodeling our home. Now with a deadline of sorts he does seem to be more motivated! We are finishing up the front two bedrooms and adding a new bathroom. We also plan on refinishing the living room and dining rooms floors before Rose's arrival. If we get all that done we will feel in pretty good shape for now, although there are always more projects to work on...hopefully painting the outside this spring and summer...I guess by next year's letter we will know if that happened!

As this year comes to a close we feel very fortunate for much in our lives especially our family and friends. We are also really looking forward to 2011, after we get through the winter season, it will be spring and our little flower will arrive! We can't wait to share this exciting experience with everyone!

Happy Holidays!!

Love,

Justin and Heather

21 weeks

How far along?  21 weeks
Maternity clothes?  It's still a mix...
Sleep?  Well last night I was tossing and turning a lot, but the rest of the week was pretty good
Best moment last week? The ultrasound and getting to see the baby and count her fingers and toes
Movement?  I FELT IT!!! It is sporadic, but I probably feel it a couple times a day and Justin was able to feel it once

Food cravings?  I think I have eaten most of the raspberry cake we bought to share the news with our parents...when it runs out I will be very sad...I feel like a donut craving is coming on...
Labor signs? None!
Belly button in/out? In, though Justin keeps teasing that it's coming out
What I miss: This coming weekend is the Christmas party at the Allentown Brew Works hosted by Justin's employer...last year I had a really yummy martini, but not this year :(
What I am looking forward to: long weekends for Christmas and New Years
Milestones: We felt the baby move!!!

My thoughts: I am now over the halfway point (the baby is considered full-term after 37 weeks, and I would be fine with her coming a little earlier), but this was a big milestone! It was soooo wonderful to have our ultrasound and get to see our little girl. I guess there is always a small chance that she will turn out to be a he, but the doctor seemed confident so I am just going to run with it :) I also had my regular visit this week and Justin and I are signed up for our childbirth classes this February and March. We were also asked to find a pediatrician, so we will have to start that after the holidays. For those of you wondering I have gained about 7 pounds so far and was told that gaining about 15 more pounds over the next 20 weeks would be good, I will do my best! On another note Justin said he *might* have the nursery painted by next weekend so then I could start decorating!! I have already started one project for the wall behind the crib and can't wait to get things all in place.

FIESTA!!!

Last night at dinner (which was blueberry pancakes that made my tummy smile) Justin says 'Here, you can eat off the Rose Fiesta plate.' AHHHHHHH, in picking out a name I NEVER thought about Fiesta which my mother is helping me amass a huge collections of because well, it makes me smile :) Anyway this story is REALLY amazing because Heather is also a Fiesta color!!! So besides both being flowers we will both be Fiesta colors, this (you guessed it) also makes me smile :) Justin thinks I am going baby girl crazy...he has no idea how bad it's gonna get!!

Introducing Rose Elizabeth Stillinger due to arrive April 22, 2011!!

Tonight we had all our parents over for the revealing (we had a delicious raspberry filled cake to share the news)...and it's a GIRL!! The doctor seemed very sure at the ultrasound so if it's not then we will be really surprised :) Our little girl will be named for a flower just like her mommy and her middle name is Heather's great-grandmother's middle name (Florence Elizabeth), who was a very important woman in both Heather and her mother's life. SO that is how we came up with the name! We we tried to make the name meaningful and simple (also something that is easily spelled/pronounced, but not too common). So now we can paint the room green and start finding cute items in pink and purple to decorate the room!
The ultrasound went really well and they even heated the gel that they put on Heather's stomach. Our little flower was moving all around and the doctor let us see the heart beat and count all her fingers and toes! Her measurements are just where she should be and he didn't see anything concerning. We are really starting to get excited now as we have seen a peak of her and can't wait to meet her in person!

tassimo or keurig

Ok, so for the past month for 5 hours on either Saturday or Sunday I have demonstrated either the Keurig or Tassimo at Bed Bath and Beyond (Saturday is Keurig and Sunday is Tassimo). This is not such a bad gig, if you don't mind repeating the same minute spiel over and over again... Anyway, it never fails that people ask 'so how does this machine compare with the other one?' Well I cannot compare machines when I am displaying one, I can only discuss the one I am have on display. So here is the run-down on these two products: if you want a certain brand of coffee check which machine carries that line (Starbucks is only made for Tassimo) or if you want more selection of coffee and tea go with Keurig. If on the other hand you like espresso, cappuccino, and latte then go with the Tassimo. So that's basically it. Justin and I have a Keurig and love it and I got my parents the Tassimo and they love that. Really either is great it just depends on a couple factors which would be the best choice for you, either way the machines are great and if you don't have one you should really consider it!

20 weeks

(the above picture was taken with our new camera!)

How far along?  20 weeks 2 days
Maternity clothes?  It's a mix...some days the bump seems larger than other days... I know that sounds weird, but some times everything is too small and other days people say they would not guess I was pregnant...
Sleep?  Better, no legs cramps this past week, but lots of trips to the bathroom :)
Best moment last week? Decorating for Christmas and listening to lots of Christmas music
Movement?  Still waiting....
Food cravings?  This week I was kinda in the mood for bagels and bananas
Labor signs? None!
Belly button in/out? In
What I miss:  Energy
What I am looking forward to: December 7 our ultrasound
Milestones: 20 WEEKS... the BIG halfway point!

My thoughts: This week really feels like I am getting somewhere, I know I have a long way to go, but it feels good to be halfway and working towards the big finale! Justin and I also have settled on names, we actually had them and have not changed them since around week 6! We will reveal the name when we share the gender, but both include members of family and depending on the gender it is also related to Justin or myself...that's all I'll say for now :) Justin and I have been playing with the idea that if we don't find out if the baby is a boy or girl, just waiting until the end...we're still thinking about that. It would be hard because we decided not to have a theme, but to just do colors, that way we could mix and match a lot of stuff and it would grow with the baby. If we have a boy we will paint the nursery blue and use yellow and red as accent colors. If it is a girl we are going to paint the room green with pink and purple accents. Plus I have lots of decorating I want to do before the baby comes, so I don't really don't think we'll be able to wait... We are having our parents over to reveal the sex of the baby on Tuesday night (as long as the baby cooperates) so after that we will share the news with everyone!

19 weeks

How far along?  19 weeks,2 days
Maternity clothes?  It's a mix...although I feel like this bump is getting out of control and soon I will be packing away more of my regular clothing
Sleep?  Good overall, I have been waking up a few times with leg cramps
Best moment last week? Seeing our family on Thanksgiving
Movement?  Still waiting....
Food cravings?  OOOO, this week I had popcorn and hot chocolate, it was WONDERFUL
Labor signs? None!
Belly button in/out? In
What I miss:  Energy
What I am looking forward to: December 7 our 20 week ultrasound :)
Milestones: We are now just one week away from halfway!!!

My thoughts: As this is also around Thanksgiving I thought it would be a good time to share some of the things that make me thankful, I think I notice different things now that I am pregnant. I am really thankful for my husband who is truly my best friend and indulges my pregnancy whims. Also with the coming arrival of our baby I am thankful for our family's and their excitement about the newest family member. While I will not be able to stay home with our baby, both our mother's have volunteered to babysit their grandchild; I am thankful our child will be loved and cared for by the women who raised us! So not exactly what I had expected to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, but I am VERY thankful!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today was a great Thanksgiving for us! We started out by having breakfast with the Stillingers and watching some of the parade. We then went back home so Heather could bake her pies for dinner with the Bechtels. For the second year in a row we hosted Heather's grandparents, parents, brother and Kate for Thanksgiving dinner. This year due to logistics Justin had to made the turkey by himself, but he did a great job. (The past several years we have deep fried turkey and it is soooo juicy and yummy!)

(Justin didn't want to get a picture of him taken, but I took it anyway!)
It was really nice to get to spend the day with lots of our family. Next year there will have to be another seat at the table ;)

Flooring!

Here's a  time lapse video of Justin installing the bamboo flooring in the work-in-progress nursery today.
It's approx 3 1/2 mins long spanning a time of 2 1/2hrs. Tahnee decided to help near the end :)
We'll be adding music to it as time allows.

SUPER SATURDAY!!!

Today was a super Saturday for many reasons, but mostly because we got to see the Jacobs family. We met Jeremy, Becky, and Brahm for some shopping at Buy Buy Baby in Allentown (this was my first time in the store and I would say I prefer it to Babies R Us, but I could be biased since they are also owned by Bed Bath and Beyond), anyway we had a nice time shopping. We got a couple small things for our baby and a welcome baby gift for a friend who is expecting in a couple weeks. Plus Jeremy and Becky gave us some pointers on what items to register for and what items we probably won't need. Then we went out for lunch at the Allentown Brew Works. As you can see in the picture Justin assisted Brahm in drinking some water out of an open cup, a wonderful skill for such a little guy!
We said our good-byes, but not before Becky lent me a bag full of maternity shirts and dresses. Between her and cousin Amanda I have been very lucky to borrow lots of great maternity clothing! Then we went over the the Lehigh Valley Mall to look for a couple more maternity items (I don't really need anything right now, but it never hurts to look at the sale items). Anyway I found 3 shirts at Gap Maternity for under $20 TOTAL and then got a pair of jeans and another shirt at Motherhood in Boscovs for $30. SCORE and SCORE!! I really think I am now set with clothing :)
Now we are home, mostly relaxing (Justin is going to work in the nursery a bit) and just enjoying our evening together.

18 weeks- I can still see my feet :)

How far along?  18 weeks
Maternity clothes?  Yes, just pants (they are soooo comfy)
Sleep?  Good
Best moment last week? I got a haircut
Movement?  I have not felt the baby move yet, BUT  I swear (and Justin said he saw it too) one side of my stomach will stick out and then it won't...
Food cravings?  Last weekend I wanted carrots and dip...sometimes salt or something sweet
Labor signs? None!
Belly button in/out? In
What I miss:  Energy
What I am looking forward to: December 7, when hopefully we find out what color to paint the nursery :)
Milestones: This is the start of month number 5!!

Update on Ben

Ben started limping about 3 days before we took him to the farm. We had asked that he go to the vet as soon as possible, although we had been more concerned with monitoring his lumps and skin condition. The vet found a very aggressive bone cancer is his front leg. His leg was amputated today. The weight bearing bone was almost completely gone and a fracture would have been imminent. We don't know how much time Ben has left (they have said maybe around 6 months), but we do know his quality of life will be vastly improved! The surgery went well and Ben should return to the farm tomorrow.

MaPaw Farm

Saturday we took Ben (he's the one in the center that does not look like a Husky) to the MaPaw Rescue farm in Boyertown. We have adopted two dogs (Tahnee and Glacier) and have been fostering dogs for almost two years, but with the pending arrival of our newest family member, we felt the need to make our lives and home a little more simple...at least for awhile. Ben had been our longest foster at over a year and Heather was really attached to him and his large ears :) We will visit Ben and all the other MaPaw dogs and hopefully Ben will either find his forever home or be able to come stay with us again in the future. In the meantime if anyone is looking to find a furry friend check out sibes.com.