A Much Needed Update

Our little Peanut is 29 weeks today. Well I guess little might not be the correct description, length is suppose to be over 16 inches and weight could be 3 lbs. Yikes this baby is growing like crazy! I think I've noticed a difference over the past week. Sleep is definitely starting to become more interrupted with discomfort and bathroom breaks. I feel like I look down on Tim when I am sleeping because I am on a fortress of pillows. Speaking of Tim, me and Peanut are so lucky to have him in our lives because he shows/tells us how much we are loved everyday. I couldn't have asked for a better father to my child. I hope Peanut follows in daddy's footsteps when it comes to character and compassion because he is an incredible person - most people who know him can't agree more I'm sure!

We decided to take some updated pictures of our nursery and my belly since it's been a while. The first picture is with the cutest little bib, it says Lil Peanut and has a little elephant on it. Obviously we had to get it for Peanut. As you can also see in the picture, there is definitely a "lil" Peanut in there.

This picture is a little better showing just how big Peanut has gotten. I swear my belly wasn't this big last week. Unfortunately this is not after eating dinner, I'm hoping my maternity pants and sweater exaggerate a little. Although I'm not sure at 29 weeks you can blame clothing?!?

For those of you wanting to see an update of our nursery, don't get your hopes up. We are keeping it neutral and simple, but we still need to hang a picture and decide where we are going to put a couple of clings for the walls. The furniture appears black in the photos, but it is actually espresso or a deep chocolate. The crib is almost complete, we are just waiting for the mattress cover and a crib sheet before it is done. There is a bumper in there, but that is just for pictures. I'm going to remove that once Peanut arrives and starts sleeping in the crib. The little froggie chair to the left of the crib is going to be our measure of Peanut's growth month to month. We plan on taking monthly pictures with it, as a bed for early months and eventually a chair when Peanut gets bigger.

We received our glider and ottoman this week, so we are complete for big furniture in the nursery. It is incredibly comfortable and very supportive. We have to purchase a better cloth for the nightstand next to the ottoman, and decide on window valence/treatment. The dresser has a couple of little things here and there, probably not final locations except the little piggy bank - which we are happy to say already has money in it. We have started putting loose change in the little piggy.
Finally a photo of our Chicco stroller and car seat. Everyone was a little reluctant when I picked out the color because it was so bright, but once it was put together I had the support. We don't even have a lot of "big" things for the baby, but we are already finding out that this little person comes with a lot of baggage.

We are so excited for Peanut's arrival and thank everyone for their support! We are also counting our blessings because several public health employees at Tim's work were just deployed to Pine Ridge (over 6 hours away) for 3 months with less than 24 hour notice. Tim called me panicking, but somehow I was the calm one and assured Tim we would handle whatever came our direction. I also promised him he would not miss the arrival of his first child. We are so fortunate that he was not deployed especially since he is one of four remaining public health officers left at his station. We look forward to celebrating the New Year and all it has to bring to our new family. We wish you a Happy New Year, and hope all your dreams come true in 2011.

Peanut is Entertaining!

As you can tell we are pretty boring people because we are excited by every little thing that Peanut does these days. The other night while we were lying in bed, I had my computer on my lap and noticed Peanut actively moving. So I told Tim to watch my stomach, and sure enough Peanut was active enough for us to watch the movements. Tim even said, "Jeez, I can't believe Peanut is that active already. S/He is going crazy in there." The weird thing is I am not having a lot of caffeine or sugar in the evening. Tim keeps saying that this is definitely my kid because the most action is happening at night. This little one is definitely a night owl because I don't notice much movement until the middle of the morning, but things really get going in the evening. The other day Mommy and Daddy went on a dinner/movie date. During the movie, Peanut was moving around probably because I was drinking pop and laughing quite a bit at the movie. Tim put his hand on my stomach, and I sware Peanut gave Daddy a high five. I haven't felt a kick that strong yet, Tim even looked at me like wow that was a strong one. Needless to say, actions like these are the highlight of our days now. We are really excited to begin the third trimester this week too! Thanks to everyone for your support and interest in our family. Special shout out to Sam for the sweet comments! It is nice to have some feedback on these posts every once in awhile. We hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas!

Baby is Active!

Today while sitting with my computer on my lap, I felt several movements from Peanut. Some of which were really strong that I thought I saw the blanket move. So I lowered the blanket so I could see my belly through my clothing, and there Peanut went again. Two or three strong kicks or movements because my belly was dancing, which is probably one of the most strange sensations of pregnancy. Watching your body do something that you should be in control of, and you can only sit and watch the show. Over the last couple of days some the movements were less intense and more frequent, almost predictable. So I think this week little Peanut was having some hiccups. Last night Ginger was lying with me while Peanut was exercising, and she kept lifting you ears or tilting her head each time I felt a kick. Finally after a couple of minutes of this, she moved to go sit with Tim. I'm just waiting for the time when Peanut stops with the doggie love taps and decides to kick so hard that Baxter or Ginger actually move. Although it is still funny watching their reactions to movements when they are laying with their heads on me. Our family is really excited for Peanut's arrival, and time seems to be going by so quickly. Tomorrow marks 27 weeks! I often catch Tim staring at my belly, to which he just smiles and says he likes looking at Peanut and watching his/her home grow. Thanks sweetheart!

Thank You Peanut!

Yesterday was a milestone in the Sass household! Finally after weeks of trying, Tim was able to feel Peanut kick! Each time Peanut was playing soccer in my belly, I would have Tim feel my stomach in hopes that he could feel the movement. Most of the time the kicks would stop, I think because Peanut could sense the calmness that Tim exudes. It might also be that Peanut was continuing to mess around with Tim since s/he has been doing that since the beginning of this journey. :) We were lying in bed last night and Tim was drifting off to sleep. I started feeling consistent movement, and I felt it from the outside so I grabbed Tim's hand. He had his hand there for a few moments, and wasn't able to feel the kicks I could feel on the outside. Then Tim said, "Why is Peanut kicking me?" He had a huge smile on his face and he was able to feel 3 or 4 kicks, he was so excited to finally feel the baby! I was almost in tears because aside from the ultrasound (and the rounding of my belly), this was the first proof for Tim that there is a baby growing in there. Needless to say we are glowing today because we are so excited that Peanut finally decided to let Daddy know that something is really going on in there. I also like to think it was Peanut's way of showing love to Daddy because last week I was writing an email to Tim and out of nowhere I had crazy kicks going on until I told Tim that Peanut said hello, and then the movement settled down. I guess this 9 months of waiting thing just makes your mind do crazy things! Either way we are excited to see how these next 14 weeks go, and await the arrival of our baby!

**As a side note, today we are officially under 100 days until March 17th**

Waiting for a Playmate!

Baxter and Ginger can't hide their excitement for a new playmate! Well maybe they don't seem really excited here, but any time we bring something home or a package arrives for Peanut they are really interested. Probably only because they want presents too! They do sense something is going on because they are more calm around me and like to play a little harder with Tim. When we listen to the baby on the doppler, they are more interested now. It is really cute having the doggies around us on the bed while we listen to Peanut. Our new little family all together on one bed! Somehow I don't think that will be changing much come March. It's crazy to think we have only 3 more weeks and then we are into the 3rd and final trimester. Next week we say goodbye to triple digits as the countdown goes below 100 days! This time has gone by so quickly, and we are so excited to meet our baby!